depopulation
過疎化
解説 Definition
村・山間部・地方都市などで住民が減り、学校、商店、交通、医療など地域社会の機能が弱まる「過疎化」を表します。人口数だけでなく、生活基盤の空洞化まで含む語感があります。
Depopulation is the process in which the number of people living in a place becomes smaller over time. It is often used for towns, villages, or regions where many people move away or where fewer children are born. The word is common in discussions about rural areas, aging societies, and local economies.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
この depopulation は、地図上の一地域から人が抜けていくイメージで覚えると自然です。rural depopulation や depopulation of villages のように、若者の都市流出、産業の衰退、高齢化で集落の維持が難しくなる文脈に出ます。一般的な「人口減少」から派生して、地域共同体が薄くなる社会問題としての意味が前面に出ます。
See `de-` as "down" or "away" and `population` as the people in a place. So `depopulation` is not just fewer people on paper, but people draining away from a town or village. It often appears with `rural`, `villages`, or `remote areas`, so connect it with local communities becoming thinner and weaker.
例文
Depopulation of rural villages has become a serious issue in many developed countries.
農村の過疎化は、多くの先進国で深刻な問題となっている。
The government introduced financial incentives to combat the depopulation of remote mountain areas.
政府は山間部の過疎化に対抗するため、経済的インセンティブを導入した。
War and famine were the primary causes of depopulation in the region during the 18th century.
18世紀のその地域における人口減少の主な原因は、戦争と飢饉であった。
depopulation の類義語・関連語
depopulation の語源・成り立ち Etymology
depopulation は Latin depopulatio に由来し、de-「取り去る」+ populus「人々」を土台にもつ語です。原義は「住民を追って土地を荒らすこと」で、そこから過疎化へ広がりました。popular や populace も同じ populus 系です。
"Depopulation" comes from Latin depopulatio, built from de- meaning "away, down, or removal" and populus meaning "people." It first referred to driving people away and laying land waste. Later the meaning became broader and more neutral, referring to a decline in population; related English words include populace and popular.
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