Where does “despise” come from?
Despise comes from Middle English despisen, from Old French despis-, meaning to scorn or treat with contempt.
despise (English): To regard with contempt or scorn; To disregard or...
Definitions
- To regard with contempt or scorn; To disregard or...
Ancestry of “despise”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | despisen | — |
| 2 | Old French | despis- | — |
| 3 | Latin | dēspicere | — |
| 4 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 5 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 6 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 7 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |