Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “desperate” come from?

Desperate comes from Latin desperatus, the past participle of despero, meaning to lose hope, formed from the prefix de- and a root ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European de.

desperate (English): In dire need of something; Being filled with, or...

Definitions

  1. In dire need of something; Being filled with, or...

Ancestry of “desperate”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latindēspērātus—
2Latindēsperō—
3Esperanto-oNominal suffix. Most Esperanto nouns end in "-o";...
4Spanish-óA suffix indicating the third-person singular...
5LatinAramaicus—
6Ancient GreekἈραμαϊκός—
7AramaicܐܪܡܝܐAramean; gentile
8Aramaicארמיא—
9Aramaicארם—

Words derived from “desperate”

  • desperately
  • desperateness
  • nondesperate
  • desperado
Every word from Aramaic ארם →