'awaste' originates from Early Modern English combining the prefix 'a-' (from Old English 'on' or 'at', used to form adverbial/participial forms) with the adjective/noun 'waste', which itself comes from Old French 'waste' or 'guast(e)', ultimately from Latin 'vastus' meaning 'empty, desolate'.

'awaste' appeared in Middle and Early Modern English as a- + 'waste' (Middle English 'awast, a-waste'), formed by attaching the prefix 'a-' to Old French-derived 'waste'; over time the form fell into rare or archaic usage in modern English.

Initially it meant 'in a state of being waste/laid waste' (literally 'made waste' or 'rendered desolate'); over time the term became archaic and its sense narrowed to literary or historical use meaning 'ruined' or 'desolate'.