Damaged

How to spell damaged

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce damaged

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does damaged mean?

1. adjectiveHarmed, broken, or impaired in some way, so that quality or function is reduced.
2. verbPast tense of damage: caused harm or injury to something.

Damaged in a sentence

• adjective

  The courier returned the damaged parcel without an apology.

• verb

  The flood damaged thousands of homes along the river.

• adjective

  A damaged reputation can take years to rebuild after a public scandal.

• verb

  Careless handling damaged the antique frame during the move.

Where does damaged come from?

Language of origin: French

This word goes back to the Latin noun damnum, which meant 'loss, harm, or financial penalty', the same root that gives us 'damn' and 'condemn'. From damnum Old French formed the noun damage, meaning 'harm or injury done to property or a person', and English borrowed that noun in the 1200s. The verb 'to damage', meaning to cause such harm, followed soon after, and 'damaged' is simply its past participle and adjective form. The spelling keeps the soft 'g' of the French original, which is why the ending is written -age before the regular past tense -ed is added. Because the silent final 'e' of 'damage' is dropped when -ed is attached, the result is the single-g, single-e form 'damaged', a small spelling step that trips up writers who expect to double a letter.

How the word is built

• damage (harm, from Latin damnum: loss, harm)
• -ed (past participle / adjective suffix)