casualty
Pronunciation: /ˈkaʒjʊəlti, -zj-/
noun ( plural casualties)
- a person killed or injured in a war or accident: the shelling caused thousands of civilian casualties
- a person or thing badly affected by an event or situation: the building industry has been one of the casualties of the recession
- British the casualty department of a hospital: he went to casualty to have a cut stitched
- (chiefly in insurance) an accident or disaster: the Insurers acquire all the Policyholder’s rights in respect of the casualty which caused the loss
Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense 'chance, a chance occurrence'): from medieval Latin casualitas, from casualis (see casual), on the pattern of words such as penalty