Loss, n.
Etymology: [AS. los loss, losing, fr. leósan to lose. Lose, v. t.]
1. The act of losing; failure; destruction; privation; as, the loss of property; loss of money by gaming; loss of health or reputation. Assured loss before the match be played. Shak.
2. The state of losing or having lost; the privation, defect, misfortune, harm, etc., which ensues from losing. Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss. Shak
3. That which is lost or from which one has parted; waste; -- opposed to gain or increase; as, the loss of liquor by leakage was considerable.
4. The state of being lost or destroyed; especially, the wreck or foundering of a ship or other vessel.
7 more senses
5. Failure to gain or win; as, loss of a race or battle.
6. Failure to use advantageously; as, loss of time.
7. (Mil.)
Killed, wounded, and captured persons, or captured property.
8. (Insurance)
Destruction or diminution of value, if brought about in a manner provided for in the insurance contract (as destruction by fire or wreck, damage by water or smoke), or the death or injury of an insured person; also, the sum paid or payable therefor; as, the losses of the company this year amount to a million of dollars. To bear a loss, to make a loss good; also, to sustain a loss without sinking under it. -- To be at a loss, to be in a state of uncertainty.
Syn. -- Privation; detriment; injury; damage.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for loss; he lists it under injury.
Where he writes about it:
Damage (L. damnum, loss) is that which occasions loss to the possessor; hence, any impairment of value, often with the suggestion of fault on the part of the one causing it; damage reduces value, utility, or beauty; detriment (L. deterere, to rub or wear away) is similar in meaning, but far milder. — from injury
Damage is partial; loss is properly absolute as far as it is predicated at all; the loss of a ship implies that it is gone beyond recovery; the loss of the rudder is a damage to the ship; but since the loss of a part still leaves a part, we may speak of a partial or a total loss. — from injury