casualty
/ˈkæʒu.əlti/
Frequency: 3.61 in modern English
Meaning
noun
Something that happens by chance, especially an unfortunate event; an accident, a disaster.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A person suffering from injuries or who has been killed due to an accident or through an act of violence.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Specifically, a person who has been killed (not only injured) due to an accident or through an act of violence; a fatality.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A person in military service who becomes unavailable for duty, for any reason (notably death, injury, illness, capture, or desertion).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Clipping of casualty department: the accident and emergency department of a hospital providing immediate treatment.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "1756, Samuel Johnson, “The Life of Sir Thomas Browne” in Thomas Browne, Christian Morals, 2nd edition, London: J. Payne, p. xx, The course of his education was like that of others, such as put him little in the way of extraordinary casualties."
- "Among recent casualties is the S.B.B.'s branch from Nyon to Divonne-les-Bains, just across the French frontier, closed to all traffic at the commencement of the winter service."
- "Today, the pocket calculator is a dying product, a casualty of digitization, which has been relegated to the role of a graphic icon on phone and computer screens rather than an object in its own right, but back in the early 1970s, it was at the forefront of consumer technology."
- "The non-necessary [causes] follow; of which, saith Fuchsius, no art can be made, by reason of their uncertainty, casualty, and multitude […]"
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ḱh₂d-, casuel, casualitas, cāsuālis, cāsus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkæʒu.əlti/
- British English: /ˈkaʒʊ.əlti/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
- Obsolete