1540s; see de- + populate. Perhaps from Latin depopulatus, past participle of depopulari "to lay waste, ravage." Related: Depopulated; depopulating. Earlier in same sense was dispeplen (early 15c.).
实用例句
1. The famine threatened to depopulate the continent.
饥荒可能会导致该大洲人口剧减。
来自柯林斯例句
2. King Ptolemy prohibited Hegesias from lecturing , lest he depopulate the country.