BharatNotes Displacement
noun (uncountable; also countable)Usage in a UPSC answer
The 2021 Cyclone Yaas forced the displacement of nearly 1.5 million people from low-lying coastal districts of West Bengal and Odisha into cyclone shelters, testing the state governments' capacity for mass temporary accommodation, water supply, and rapid damage assessment under real-time conditions.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
displace (verb), displaced (adjective), displacer (noun), displacing (participle), non-displacement (noun), internally displaced person/IDP (compound noun)
Root
Latin/Old French dis- = apart, away + placer = to place (from Latin platea = street, open space); suffix -ment = result of action
Etymology
Formed from 'displace' (to remove from the usual or proper place) plus the nominalising suffix '-ment'. 'Displace' derives from Middle French desplacer, combining des- (away) with placer (to place), from Medieval Latin platiare (to put in place), derived from Latin platea (broad street, open area), borrowed from Greek plateia. The word entered English in the 16th century. Its humanitarian and disaster-management application — denoting populations removed from their homes — became prominent in international law and policy discourse in the late 20th century, codified in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998).
Memory Hook
DIS (away) + PLACE (location) + MENT: displacement is being taken AWAY from your PLACE. The word literally breaks apart into its meaning — you are de-placed, removed from where you belong. Think of chess pieces knocked off the board — they are displaced, no longer in their position.
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