Dis- | Meaning Of Prefix Dis- By Etymonline

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Origin and history of dis-

dis-

word-forming element of Latin origin meaning 1. "lack of, not" (as in dishonest); 2. "opposite of, do the opposite of" (as in disallow); 3. "apart, away" (as in discard), from Old French des- or directly from Latin dis- "apart, asunder, in a different direction, between," figuratively "not, un-," also "exceedingly, utterly." Assimilated as dif- before -f- and to di- before most voiced consonants.

The Latin prefix is from PIE *dis- "apart, asunder" (source also of Old English te-, Old Saxon ti-, Old High German ze-, German zer-). The PIE root is a secondary form of *dwis- and thus is related to Latin bis "twice" (originally *dvis) and to duo, on notion of "two ways, in twain" (hence "apart, asunder").

In classical Latin, dis- paralleled de- and had much the same meaning, but in Late Latin dis- came to be the favored form and this passed into Old French as des-, the form used for compound words formed in Old French, where it increasingly had a privative sense ("not"). In English, many of these words eventually were altered back to dis-, while in French many have been altered back to de-. The usual confusion prevails.

As a living prefix in English, it reverses or negatives what it is affixed to. Sometimes, as in Italian, it is reduced to s- (as in spend, splay, sport, sdain for disdain, and the surnames Spencer and Spence).

Entries linking to dis-

disallow(v.)

late 14c., "to refuse to praise" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French desalouer "to blame," from des- "not, opposite of" (see dis-) + alouer (see allow). Meanings "to reject, refuse to receive or acknowledge," also "refuse to allow, refuse to approve or sanction" are from c. 1400. Related: Disallowed; disallowing; disallowance.

discard(v.)

1590s, "throw out or reject a card dealt to a player, in accordance with the rules of the game," literally "to throw a card away," from dis- "away" + card (n.1). Figurative use (in a non-gaming sense) "cast off, dismiss" is attested slightly earlier (1580s). In the card-playing sense, decard is attested by 1550s. Related: Discarded; discarding. As a noun, "act of discarding or rejecting," from 1742.

• disdain
• dishonest
• Spencer
• spend
• splay
• sport
• address
• adroit
• debacle
• debar
• debark
• decamp
• decry
• deface
• defeasance
• defeat
• defer
• defiance
• See All Related Words (303)

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disdainmid-14c., desdeinen, "think unworthy or worthless, look upon with contempt," from Old French desdeignier "disdain, scorn, refuse, repudiate" (Modern French dédaigner), from des- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + deignier "treat as worthy," from Latin dignari "to deem worthy or fispend"to pay out or away, deprive oneself of" (money, wealth), Middle English spenden, from Old English -spendan (in forspendan "use up"), from Medieval Latin spendere, a shortening of Latin expendere "to weigh out money, pay down" (see expend) or possibly of dispendere "to pay out" (splayearly 14c., "unfold, unfurl" (a sense now obsolete); c. 1400, "spread out," a shortened form of desplayen (see display (v.)). The meaning "spread out awkwardly" is attested by 1848; the past-participle adjective splayed is attested from 1540s as "expanded, spread out." Splay-footdiffidentpower," from Latin diffidentem (nominative diffidens), present participle of diffidere "to mistrust, lack confidence," from dis...- "away" (see dis-) + fidere "to trust" (from PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade")....defercarry apart, scatter, disperse;" also "be different, differ;" also "defer, put off, postpone," from assimilated form of dis...- "away from" (see dis-) + ferre "to bear, carry" (from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry")....differvarious," from Old French differer (14c.) and directly from Latin differre "to set apart, differ," from assimilated form of dis...- "apart, away from" (see dis-) + ferre "to bear, carry," from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry."...defeatfrom Old French desfait, past participle of desfaire "to undo," from Vulgar Latin *diffacere "undo, destroy," from Latin dis...- "un-, not" (see dis-) + facere "to do, perform," from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put."...theologymid-14c., "the science of religion, study of God and his relationship to humanity," from Old French theologie "philosophical study of Christian doctrine; Scripture" (14c.), from Latin theologia, from Greek theologia "an account of the gods," from theologos "one discoursing on theadamantlate 14c., "hard, unbreakable," from adamant (n.). The figurative sense of "unshakeable" (in belief, etc.) is by 1670s. Related: Adamantly; adamance...."a very hard stone," mid-14c., adamant, adamaunt, from Old French adamant "diamond; magnet" or directly from Latin adamantem (nolotOld English hlot "object used to determine someone's share" (anything from dice to straw, but often a chip of wood with a name inscribed on it), also "what falls to a person by lot," from Proto-Germanic *khlutom (source also of Old Norse hlutr "lot, share," Old Frisian hlot "lot,

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/dis-CopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/dis-">Etymology of dis- by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of dis-. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/dis-CopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of dis-," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed December 25, 2025, https://www.etymonline.com/word/dis-.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of dis-." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/dis-. Accessed 25 December, 2025.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of dis-." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/dis- (accessed December 25, 2025).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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