depreciate
Meaning
to become less valuable over a period of time
to reduce the value of something over time in financial accounts
to state that something has less value or importance than it really has; to disparage
Structure
Usage
new cars typically depreciate rapidly in their first year.
the company will depreciate the equipment over five years for tax purposes.
he felt the review unfairly depreciated his significant contributions to the project.
Etymology
the verb "depreciate" entered english in the mid-15th century from late latin depretiatus, the past participle of depretiare, meaning "to lower the price of, undervalue." this latin term is a compound of the prefix de- ("down") and pretium ("price, value"). the core semantic logic is straightforward: to "price down." initially used in a general sense of undervaluing or disparaging, its meaning specialized in commerce and finance from the 18th century onward to describe the systematic decline in the monetary value of assets or currency. the journey from the concrete latin notion of reducing a price to the modern abstract concepts of financial devaluation and disparagement illustrates a clear and consistent metaphorical extension based on the root meaning of "value."
Analysis
de: latin origin, a prefix meaning "down from, away, off, completely." in this word, it indicates a reduction or lowering. preci: from latin pretium meaning "price, value, worth." it is a direct substring of the modern spelling. ate: a verb-forming suffix of latin origin via french, indicating to make, cause, or perform the action of the root.