Dys- | Meaning Of Prefix Dys- By Etymonline

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Origin and history of dys-

dys-

word-forming element meaning "bad, ill; hard, difficult; abnormal, imperfect," from Greek dys-, inseparable prefix "destroying the good sense of a word or increasing its bad sense" [Liddell & Scott], hence "bad, hard, unlucky," from PIE root (and prefix) *dus- "bad, ill, evil" (source also of Sanskrit dus-, Old Persian duš- "ill," Old English to-, Old High German zur-, Gothic tuz- "un-"), a derivative of the root *deu- (1) "to lack, be wanting" (source of Greek dein "to lack, want").

Very productive in ancient Greek, where it could attach even to proper names (such as dysparis "unhappy Paris"); its entries take up nine columns in Liddell & Scott. Among the words formed from it were some English might covet: dysouristos "fatally favorable, driven by a too-favorable wind;" dysadelphos "unhappy in one's brothers;" dysagres "unlucky in fishing;" dysantiblepos "hard to look in the face."

Entries linking to dys-

dysentery(n.)

diseased characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane of the large intestine, late 14c., dissenterie, from Old French disentere (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin dysenteria, from Greek dysenteria, coined by Hippocrates, from dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + entera "intestines, bowels," from PIE *enter "between, among," comparative of root *en "in." Related: Dysenteric.

dysfunction(n.)

"failure to function, abnormality or impairment of function," 1914, from dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" + function (n.). Originally in anatomy and medicine; in sociology by 1949.

• dysgenics
• dyslexia
• dyslogy
• dyspeptic
• dysphemism
• dysphoria
• dysplasia
• dysprosium
• dystopia
• dystrophy
• mal-
• See All Related Words (13)

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dyslexia"a difficulty in reading due to a condition of the brain," 1885, from German dyslexie (1883), from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + lexis "word" (taken as "reading"), from legein "speak" (from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "todyspeptic1690s, "causing dyspepsia" (a sense now obsolete); by 1789 as "pertaining to dyspepsia;" by 1822 as "suffering from dyspepsia;" from Greek dyspeptos "hard to digest," from dys- "bad, difficult" (see dys-) + peptos "digested," from peptein "to digest" (from PIE root *pekw- "to coodysphemism"substitution of a vulgar or derogatory word or expression for a dignified or normal one," 1873, from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + phēmē "speech, voice, utterance, a speaking," from phanai "speak" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say"); Greek dyspheeminentearly 15c., "standing or rising above other places; exceeding other things in quality or degree;" from Old French éminent "prominent" (13c.) or directly from Latin eminentem (nominative eminens) "standing out, projecting, prominent, high," figuratively "distinguished, distinctivesacredlate 14c., "hallowed, consecrated, or made holy by association with divinity or divine things or by religious ceremony or sanction," past-participle adjective from a now-obsolete verb sacren "to make holy" (c. 1200), from Old French sacrer "consecrate, anoint, dedicate" (12c.) orradicallate 14c., "originating in the root or ground;" of body parts or fluids, "vital to life," from Latin radicalis "of or having roots," from Latin radix (genitive radicis) "root" (from PIE root *wrād- "branch, root"). The basic sense of the word in all meanings is "pertaining or relsurreptitious"fraudulent, done by stealth or without legitimate authority," mid-15c., surrepticious, from Latin surrepticius "stolen, furtive, clandestine," from surreptus, past participle of surripere, "seize secretly, take away, steal, plagiarize," from assimilated form of sub "from under" honeymoon"indefinite period of tenderness and pleasure experienced by a newly wed couple," 1540s (hony moone), but probably older, from honey (n.) in reference to the new marriage's sweetness, and moon (n.) "month" in reference to how long it probably will last, or from the changing aspecmerryMiddle English mirie, from Old English myrge "pleasing, agreeable, pleasant, sweet, exciting feelings of enjoyment and gladness" (said of grass, trees, the world, music, song); also as an adverb, "pleasantly, melodiously," from Proto-Germanic *murgijaz, which probably originally secularc. 1300, seculer, in reference to clergy, "living in the world, not belonging to a religious order," also generally, "belonging to the state" (as opposed to the Church), from Old French seculer, seculare (Modern French séculier) and directly from Late Latin saecularis "worldly, s

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/dys-CopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/dys-">Etymology of dys- by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of dys-. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved January 6, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/dys-CopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of dys-," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed January 6, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/dys-.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of dys-." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/dys-. Accessed 6 January, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of dys-." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/dys- (accessed January 6, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near dys-

• dynamo
• dynast
• dynastic
• dynasty
• dyne
• dys-
• dysentery
• dysfunction
• dysfunctional
• dysgenics
• dyslexia

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