Dictionary entry

Casualty

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Cas″u‐al‐ty (?), n.; pl.Casualties (#). [F. casualité, LL. casualitas.] 1. That which comes without design or without being foreseen; contingency.

Losses that befall them by mere casualty.

Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Any injury of the body from accident; hence, death, or other misfortune, occasioned by an accident; as, an unhappy casualty.

3. pl.(Mil. & Naval) Numerical loss caused by death, wounds, discharge, or desertion.

Casualty ward, A ward in a hospital devoted to the treatment of injuries received by accident.

Syn. — Accident; contingency; fortuity; misfortune.