Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “demoralize” come from?

Demoralize comes from French démoraliser, formed with the prefix dé- (from Old French des-, from Latin dis-, from Latin ex, from Proto-Indo-European de, from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁) attached to a root relating to morale or moral conditions.

demoralize (English): To destroy the morale of; to dishearten

Definitions

  1. To destroy the morale of; to dishearten

Ancestry of “demoralize”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchdémoraliserto render immoral; to immoralize; to demoralize
2Frenchmoraliserto moralize
3French-iser-ise/-ize
4Old French-iser-ize
5Latin-izoUsed to form verbs from nouns and adjectives
6Ancient Greek-ίζεινpresent active infinitive of -ίζω; -ize
7Ancient Greek-ίζωUsed to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and...
8Proto-Hellenic-íďďō—
9Proto-Indo-European-idyéti—
10Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
11Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
12Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “demoralize”

  • demoralization
  • demoralizer
  • demoraliser
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