waste

Etymology 1

From Middle English wast, waste (“a waste”, noun), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast, waste (“a waste”), from Frankish *wōstī (“a waste”), from Proto-Germanic *wōstaz, *wōstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty, wasted”).

noun

1. Excess of material, useless by-products, or damaged, unsaleable products; garbage; rubbish.
2. Excrement or urine.
   The cage was littered with animal waste.
3. A wasteland; an uninhabited desolate region; a wilderness or desert.
4. A place that has been laid waste or destroyed.
5. A large tract of uncultivated land.
6. (historical) The part of the land of a manor (of whatever size) not used for cultivation or grazing, nowadays treated as common land.
7. A vast expanse of water.
8. A disused mine or part of one.
9. The action or progress of wasting; extravagant consumption or ineffectual use.
   That was a waste of time!
   Her life seemed a waste.
   'Rebel railwaymen' at Birmingham New Street refused to wear the new uniforms on the grounds that they were a "complete waste of public money". March 22 2023, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 39
10. Large abundance of something, specifically without it being used.
11. Gradual loss or decay.
12. A decaying of the body by disease; atrophy; wasting away.
13. (rare) Destruction or devastation caused by war or natural disasters; see "to lay waste".
14. (law) A cause of action which may be brought by the owner of a future interest in property against the current owner of that property to prevent the current owner from degrading the value or character of the property, either intentionally or through neglect.
15. (geology) Material derived by mechanical and chemical erosion from the land, carried by streams to the sea.

adj

1. (MTE, slang, derogatory) Useless and contemptible.
   Niggas moves so waste / Please, come outside the house and show yourself / So I can say it to your face 2017-03-18, “Free Smoke”, in More Life, performed by Drake
   Waste / Don't talk to me / You're so waste 2022-09-22, “ONTARIO PLACE”, in BADMAN, performed by Bert Le Plug

Etymology 2

From Middle English wast, waste (“waste”, adjective), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French wast (“waste”), from Frankish *wōstī (“waste, empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty, wasted”). Cognate with Old High German wuosti, wuasti (“waste, empty”), German wüst, Old Saxon wōsti (“desolate”), Old English wēste (“waste, barren, desolate, empty”).

adj

1. (now rare) Uncultivated, uninhabited.
2. Barren; desert.
   For centuries the shrine at Mecca had been of merely local importance, far outshone by the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, whose cult Christians had in good measure renewed by their pilgrimage in honour of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, while leaving the actual site of the Jerusalem Temple dishonoured and waste. 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 255
3. Rejected as being defective; eliminated as being worthless; produced in excess.
   Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy. 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist
4. Superfluous; needless.
5. Dismal; gloomy; cheerless.
6. Unfortunate; disappointing.

Etymology 3

From Middle English wasten (“to waste, lay waste”), from Anglo-Norman, Old Northern French waster (“to waste, devastate”) (compare also the variant gaster and French gâter from a related Old French word); the Anglo-Norman form waster was either from Frankish *wōstijan (“to waste”), from Proto-Indo-European *wāsto- (“empty, wasted”), or alternatively from Latin vastāre, present active infinitive of vastō and influenced by the Frankish; the English word was assisted by similarity to native Middle English westen ("to waste"; > English weest). Cognate with Old High German wuostan, wuastan, wuostjan (“to waste”) (Modern German wüsten), Old English wēstan (“to lay waste, ravage”).

verb

1. (transitive) To devastate; to destroy.
2. (transitive) To squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly.
   We wasted millions of dollars and several years on that project.
   Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, / And waste its sweetness on the desert air. 1751, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard
   A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails.[…]This set-up solves several problems […]. Stopping high-speed trains wastes energy and time, so why not simply slow them down enough for a moving platform to pull alongside? 2013-06-01, “Ideas coming down the track”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 13 (Technology Quarterly)
   E. Kay (1822-1897), afterwards Lord Justice of Appeal, had rooms on the same staircase as myself, and we wasted a great deal of time together, both in term and in my second summer vacation. . 1909, Francis Galton, Memories of my life, page 69
3. (transitive, slang) To kill; to murder.
4. (transitive) To wear away by degrees; to impair gradually; to deteriorate; to diminish by constant loss; to use up; to consume; to spend; to wear out.
5. (intransitive) To gradually lose weight, weaken, become frail.
6. (intransitive) To be diminished; to lose bulk, substance, strength, value etc. gradually.
7. (law) To damage, impair, or injure (an estate, etc.) voluntarily, or by allowing the buildings, fences, etc., to fall into decay.