depauperate

American  

[dih-paw-per-it] / dɪˈpɔ pər ɪt /

adjective

Biology.

1. poorly or imperfectly developed.

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Other Word Forms

• depauperation noun

Etymology

Origin of depauperate

1425–75; late Middle English < Late Latin dēpauperātus (past participle of dēpauperāre to make poor), equivalent to dē- de- + pauper ( āre ) to make poor ( pauper- poor ( pauper ) + -ātus -ate ¹ )

Example Sentences

By framing urban areas as degraded, depauperate and deficient, we are undervaluing its inhabitants—wildlife and people alike.

From Scientific American • Apr. 22, 2022

This once highly diverse river has become, like most others in Madagascar, depauperate.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2011

Nevertheless, the characters which serve to identify the race are, in a general way, those commonly found in populations of depauperate individuals of Thomomys bottae and T. talpoides.

From Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of Some North American Rodents by Hall, E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond)

Probably a depauperate form of Ophióglossum vulgàtum and about half as large.

From The Fern Lover's Companion A Guide for the Northeastern States and Canada by Tilton, George Henry

The muralis gopher is a depauperate form clearly belonging to the bottae group.

From Comments on the Taxonomy and Geographic Distribution of Some North American Rodents by Hall, E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond)