Causing harm, injury, or loss; something that diminishes value, reputation, or function.
From Old French 'damage' (loss, harm), possibly from Latin 'damnum' (loss, fine). The '-ing' form can be both a verb and adjective describing ongoing or characteristic harm.
What's fascinating is that 'damage' originally came from legal language about financial losses—medieval courts would calculate 'damages' as money owed—so the word literally grew from courtrooms before it meant physical harm.
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