c. 1200, "devastate, ravage, ruin," from Anglo-French and Old North French waster "to waste, squander, spoil, ruin" (Old French gaster; Modern French gâter), altered (by influence of Frankish *wostjan) from Latin vastare "lay waste," from vastus "empty, desolate," from PIE *wasto-, extended suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." Related: wasted; wasting.

The Germanic word also existed in Old English as westan "to lay waste, ravage." Spanish gastar, Italian guastare also are from Germanic. Meaning "to lose strength or health; pine; weaken" is attested from c. 1300; the sense of "squander, spend or consume uselessly" is first recorded mid-14c.; meaning "to kill" is from 1964. Waste not, want not attested from 1778.

"vanish by degrees, melt into thin air," 1817, a back-formation from evanescence, or else from Latin evanescere "disappear, vanish, pass away," figuratively "be forgotten, be wasted," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + vanescere "vanish," inchoative verb from vanus "empty, void" (from PIE *wano-, suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out").

1570s, "a vacating;" c. 1600, "state of being vacant," from Late Latin vacantia, from Latin vacans "empty, unoccupied," present participle of vacare "be empty," from PIE *wak-, extended form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." From 1690s as "a vacant office or post;" meaning "available room at a hotel" is recorded from 1953. Related: Vacance (1530s); vacancies.

"idle talk," 1620s, from Latin vaniloquentia, from vanus "idle, empty" (from suffixed form of PIE root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out") + loquens, from loqui "to speak" (from PIE root *tolkw- "to speak").

c. 1200, "desolate regions," from Anglo-French and Old North French wast "waste, damage, destruction; wasteland, moor" (Old French gast), from Latin vastum, neuter of vastus "empty, desolate," from PIE *wasto-, extended suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out."

Replaced or merged with Old English westen, woesten "a desert, wilderness," from the Latin word. Meanings "consumption, depletion," also "useless expenditure" are from c. 1300; sense of "refuse matter" is attested from c. 1400. Waste basket first recorded 1850.

c. 1300, of land, "desolate, uncultivated," from Anglo-French and Old North French waste (Old French gaste), from Latin vastus "empty, desolate," from PIE *wasto-, extended suffixed form of root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out." From c. 1400 as "superfluous, excess;" 1670s as "unfit for use." Waste-paper attested from 1580s.