Impoverish \Im*pov"er*ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Impoverished; p. pr. & vb. n. Impoverishing.]

[OF. empovrir; pref. em- (L. in) + povre poor, F. pauvre; cf. OF. apovrir, F. appauvrir, where the prefix is a-, L. ad. Cf. Empoverish, and see Poor, and -ish.]

1. To make poor; to reduce to poverty or indigence; as, misfortune and disease impoverish families.

2. To exhaust the strength, richness, or fertility of; to make sterile; as, to impoverish land.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)