depopulated
過疎の
解説 Definition
住民が大幅に減少して過疎化した状態。人口が流出して荒廃した地域。
Depopulated describes a place where the number of people has become much smaller than before. It is often used for villages, towns, or regions that people have left because of war, disaster, or economic change. The word focuses on a strong loss of population.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
populate / population を知っていれば覚えやすい語。まず populated は「人が住んでいる・人口のある」、そこに de- が付いて「人が抜けていった結果、人口が減った」と捉えるとよいです。単に empty「空っぽ」ではなく、以前は人がいたのに今は減って活気が失われた感じが出ます。depopulated area / village / region の形でよく見かけ、ニュースでは rural areas became depopulated のように使われます。populous「人口の多い」とは逆向きの語感として対比すると定着しやすいです。
Start from `populate` or `population`. Then add `de-`, which often suggests removal or reversal, so you get the image of people leaving a place. It is useful to remember with phrases like `depopulated village` or by contrasting it with `populous`.
例文
The village was depopulated after the factory closed and jobs disappeared.
工場が閉鎖され仕事がなくなった後、その村は過疎化した。
Large areas of the countryside have become depopulated as young people move to cities.
若者が都市に移住するにつれて、農村の広い地域が過疎化した。
The depopulated town now has more abandoned buildings than occupied ones.
過疎化したその町には、今や使われている建物より廃墟の方が多い。
depopulated の類義語・関連語
depopulated の語源・成り立ち Etymology
ラテン語 depopulatus（住民を失わせた）が英語 depopulate を経て形容詞化した語です。de-「取り去る」+ populus「人々」で、字義は「人が取り去られた」。そこから「人の少ない土地」すなわち「過疎の」へつながります。関連語に population、populous。
Depopulated comes from depopulate, from Latin depopulatus. It combines de- "away, remove" with populus "people." The literal idea is that people have been removed from a place, which led to the modern sense of an area left with very few inhabitants; compare population and populous.
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