Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RAV'AGE, n. [Fr. from ravir, to rob or spoil, L. rapio. See Class Rb, No. 18, 19, 26, 27.]

1. Spoil; ruin; waste; destruction by violence, either by men, beasts or physical causes; as, the ravage of a lion; the ravages of fire or tempest; the ravages of an army. Would one think 'twere possible for love / To make such ravage in a noble soul. – Addison.
2. Waste; ruin; destruction by decay; as, the ravages of time.