Where does “despair” come from?
Despair comes from Anglo-Norman despeir and Middle English dispeir, ultimately meaning to lose hope or confidence in something.
despair (English): To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to...
Definitions
- To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to...
Ancestry of “despair”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | dispeir | — |
| 2 | Anglo-Norman | despeir | — |
| 3 | Old French | desperer | — |
| 4 | Latin | dēsperō | to have no hope of |
| 5 | Esperanto | -o | Nominal suffix. Most Esperanto nouns end in "-o";... |
| 6 | Spanish | -ó | A suffix indicating the third-person singular... |
| 7 | Latin | Aramaicus | Aramean, Aramaic |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | Ἀραμαϊκός | Aramean, Aramaic |
| 9 | Aramaic | ܐܪܡܝܐ | Aramean; gentile |
| 10 | Aramaic | ארמיא | Aramaean |
| 11 | Aramaic | ארם | Aram (son of Shem) |