The Spanish word 'estrago' (meaning 'havoc' or 'devastation') traces back to the Latin word 'strages', which meant 'devastation' or 'massacre'. This evolved into the Vulgar Latin verb '*stragare' meaning 'to devastate'. In Spanish, this developed into the verb 'estragar' ('to cause damage'), from which the noun 'estrago' was derived. The addition of the initial 'e-' is a common phenomenon in Spanish words derived from Latin words beginning with 's' followed by a consonant.

The verb form 'estragar' is closely related and more commonly used in Spanish. When you learn 'estrago', you can easily remember its connection to 'estragar', as they share the same root and related meanings - one being the action (to damage/devastate) and the other being the result (havoc/devastation).

While there aren't any common English words directly derived from the same Latin root 'strages', English speakers might find it helpful to associate 'estrago' with words like 'destruction' or 'devastation' which carry similar meanings. The initial 'estr-' sound might also remind English speakers of words like 'destroy', even though they're not etymologically related.