The Spanish verb 'estragar' (meaning 'to damage' or 'to spoil') traces back to the Latin word 'sternere', which meant 'to spread out' or 'lay flat'. From this root developed the Latin noun 'strages', meaning 'devastation' or 'massacre'. This then evolved into the Vulgar Latin verb '*stragare' meaning 'to devastate', which finally gave rise to the modern Spanish 'estragar'. The semantic evolution from 'spreading out' to 'damaging' or 'spoiling' likely came through the connection of laying something flat or spreading it out in a destructive way, as in devastating or ruining something.

While 'estragar' stands somewhat alone in modern Spanish, you might encounter it in words like 'estragado' (damaged, spoiled) or 'estrago' (havoc, damage). These are all part of the same word family sharing the meaning of damage or destruction.

While English doesn't have any common direct cognates from this Latin root in the sense of 'damage', the word 'prostrate' (to lay flat, face down) comes from the same Latin root 'sternere'. This shows how the original meaning of 'laying flat' developed differently in English and Spanish, with Spanish taking on the destructive aspect while English retained more of the physical positioning meaning.