depreciated
Meaning
to become less valuable over a period of time
to reduce the value of something over time in financial accounts
Structure
Usage
the car has depreciated significantly since i bought it three years ago.
the company's assets are depreciated over a five-year period.
fears of inflation caused the currency to depreciate rapidly.
Etymology
the word 'depreciated' originates from the medieval latin verb depretiare, meaning "to lower the price of." this, in turn, is constructed from the latin prefix de-, denoting "down from," and the noun pretium, signifying "price." the literal sense is thus "to reduce from a price." the term entered english in the 15th century through the past participle form of its french derivative, initially used in a general sense of "to undervalue, to disparage." its specific financial application, referring to the deliberate decline in the book value of an asset or the market-driven loss of a currency's purchasing power, developed later. the semantic logic flows directly from the components: de- (down) + preci (value) results in the concept of a reduction in worth, which is precisely the modern economic and accounting meaning.
Analysis
de: latin origin, a prefix meaning "down, away, off, completely." in this word, it indicates a reduction or lowering. preci: from latin pretium meaning "price, value, worth." it is the core root conveying the concept of monetary worth. ated: a complex suffix of latin origin via old french, combining the past participle marker -atus. in english, it forms the past tense and past participle of verbs ending in -ate.