Where does “despondent” come from?
Despondent comes from Latin despondere, formed from de- and spend-, ultimately deriving from Proto-Indo-European de and spend-, tracing a semantic path through Latin despondeo.
despondent (English): In low spirits from loss of hope or courage
Definitions
- In low spirits from loss of hope or courage
Ancestry of “despondent”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | despondens | promising |
| 2 | Latin | dēspondeō | to promise (to give), pledge, devote to |
| 3 | Latin | dē- | of; from |
| 4 | Latin | dē | of; concerning; about |
| 5 | Latin | post | behind; after, since, besides, except; behind,... |
| 6 | Latin | poste | ablative singular of postis |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | posti | behind, after |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pósti | after |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pós | afterwards, post; by, at |