casualty
UK[ˈkæʒuəlti]US[ˈkæʒuəlti]
n
A person killed or injured in a war or accident.
n
A person or thing that is badly affected by an event or situation.
n
The department of a hospital that treats people who need urgent care, especially after an accident.
Morpheme Breakdown
casual
ty
casual
by chance
ty
state, condition
Etymology
The word 'casualty' originates from the Late Latin casualitas, meaning "chance, accident." Its core root, casus (a fall, happening, chance), derives from the verb cadere (to fall). The literal sense of "a chance event" evolved in military contexts to specifically denote "losses in numbers from a military unit," as such losses were seen as accidental or chance occurrences of war. Over time, this meaning generalized to refer to any person killed or injured in an accident or disaster, and further extended metaphorically to any person or thing adversely affected by a circumstance.
Analysis
Structure: casual (by chance) + ty (state, condition)
- casual: From Latin casualis (by chance, accidental), from casus (fall, chance, event). Functions as the core root conveying the sense of an accidental event.
- ty: A noun-forming suffix of Latin origin (-tas, -tatis), indicating a state or condition.
Examples
The earthquake caused numerous casualties.
Small businesses were the first casualties of the economic recession.
The injured cyclist was rushed to the casualty department.