Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dismayful” come from?

dismayful (English) comes from English dismay, from Middle English dismayen, from Anglo-Norman desmaiier, from Old French esmaier, from Vulgar Latin exmagare, from Latin magare, from Frankish magan, from Proto-Germanic maganą — to be able.

dismayful (English): terrifying

Definitions

  1. terrifying

Ancestry of “dismayful”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdismayTo cause to feel apprehension; great sadness, or...
2Middle Englishdismayen—
3Anglo-Normandesmaiier—
4Old Frenchesmaierto be frightened; to be scared; to frighten; to...
5Vulgar Latinexmagareto deprive of strength, to disable; deprive of...
6Latinmagareto enable; empower; to enable, empower
7Frankishmaganto be able, may
8Proto-Germanicmaganąto be able, may
9Proto-Indo-European(me)mógʰeto have power, to be able to
10Proto-Indo-Europeanmegʰ-to be able

Words derived from “dismayful”

  • dismayfully
Every word from Proto-Indo-European megʰ- →