devistate camille complete loss? 050508 ... Q This is a new word. It certainly does not mean what devastate does: to lay waste or destroy; to overwhelm, confound, or stun. It might mean someting like "bring up to the level of the almighty." Devi means "mother goddess; supreme power in the universe; wife or embodiment of the female energy of Siva having both beneficent and malevolent forms or aspects." The root of devastate is a combination of de and vastate. Vastate means to make immune. So the root of devastate is to make susceptible or vulnerable. The actual, current meaning if devastate is consistent with this root. There is no word vistate. So the root of devistate is devi with state. The meaning of devi is given above. One meaning of state is situation. So the meaning suggested above for devistate is consistent with the word's root. What do you think about that? 050508 ... camille the dimly lit auditorium is quiet and still as you walk of stage straightening your tie after a sweat inhibited explanation of the word-term "devistate" to an auditorium packed full of people. Spot light on you... someone in the back of the room proceeds to stand on their tapestry folded seat and begins to clap... um... that would be me....bravo! 050509 ... Q Not quite off stage, I stop, turn towards you, and bow with an uncommon fit of humility stoking my happiness that I have pleased you. You are my inspiration, and you were for the piece. I did it for you. I saw the crowd as just decoration. "This whole thing is she and I," I think to myself. Then, as I stand up after the bow, staring with a broad grin at you standing tall, beautiful and alone across the audience, my stomach knots up. I fear you will be hurt by shifting your weight ever so slightly on the chair so the back of the seat moves down, you slip down between the seat and the chair's back, and the seat slams closed on you. I shout "Oh, Dear, please don't move. Please don't devastate me by moving. Really, no pun intended. Don't wave. Don't smile. Don't breathe. Let me rescue you." I jump from the stage and run towards you while the crowd starts to rustle and there are whispers of "What's going on?" Just as I reach you and lift you safely off the seat, while you whisper into my ear "Have you gone berserk?" and then plant a wonderful kiss on my cheek, an old cynic in the crowd, one of your former English teachers I think, shouts "Oh, hell, don't any of you realize that all of this is a play and we've just seen the beginning of the second act?" With that the crowd then breaks into applause, as we rush hand in hand out of the building, wondering "What are we supposed to do now?" 050510 what's it to you? who go blather from