Casualty \Cas"u*al*ty\, n.; pl. Casualties. [F. casualit['e], 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)