Word of the Day

Wednesday September 23, 2009

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privation [pry-VAY-shun]

noun

1. The act of depriving, or taking away.
2. The state of being deprived of something, especially of something required or desired; need; destitution.

• Like other Western-educated technocrats, he encountered on his return the resentment of those Afghans who had had no chance to leave and had suffered 30 years of war and privation.
  Carlotta Gall, "A Technocrat Shakes Up The Campaign In Afghanistan", New York Times, Aug 14, 2009
• It's the dry season, 1978, and Laos is not a happy place. The temples of this ancient land are nearly abandoned, shrouded in dust, and the people, worn down by the privations of a struggling and increasingly inefficient socialist government, are equally dispirited.
  Clea Simon, "Coroner unravels Laotian mystery", Boston Globe, Aug 10, 2009
• Her eyes, a singularly rich and deep brown, contrasted strangely with the beautiful ivory of her skin. She was normally a beautiful girl, thought Dorothy, but her beauty was marred by suffering and privation.
  Edward Elmer Smith (1890 - 1965) A food engineer and science fiction author. The Skylark of Space (1946)

Origin of the Word

Privation, approximately 1340, derives from Middle French privacion, from Latin privatio "a taking away," from privatus, past participle of privare "deprive."