Where does “despite” come from?
Despite comes from Old French despit, from Latin despectus, the past participle of despicere meaning to look down on, from de- and specere meaning to look.
despite (English): In spite of, notwithstanding, regardless of;...
Definitions
- In spite of, notwithstanding, regardless of;...
Ancestry of “despite”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | despit | — |
| 2 | Old French | despit | — |
| 3 | Latin | dēspectus | — |
| 4 | Latin | dēspiciō | — |
| 5 | Latin | dē- | — |
| 6 | Latin | dē | — |
| 7 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 8 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | posti | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |
Words derived from “despite”