'damnation' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'damnatio', from 'damnare' meaning 'to condemn' and the noun-forming suffix '-tio'.

'damnatio' passed into Old French and late Latin forms and through Middle English as 'damnacioun' or 'damnaciōn', eventually becoming the modern English word 'damnation'.

Initially, it meant 'the act of condemning or the state of being condemned (often to divine punishment)'; over time it retained that primary sense while also developing broader secular uses meaning 'severe condemnation' and an emphatic exclamation.