Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dispense” come from?

Dispense comes from Old French dispenser, from Latin dispensare meaning to distribute or manage, derived from Latin dispendere meaning to weigh out, ultimately from Latin pendere meaning to weigh or hang.

dispense (English): To issue, distribute, or give out; To apply, as...

Definitions

  1. To issue, distribute, or give out; To apply, as...

Ancestry of “dispense”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchdispenser—
2Latindispensarepresent active infinitive of dispēnsō;...
3Latindispendereto weight out; weigh out; to weigh out
4Latinpendēre—
5Latinpendō—
6Proto-Italicpendōhang, put in a hanging position
7Proto-Indo-European(s)péndeti—
8Proto-Indo-European(s)pend-to stretch

Words derived from “dispense”

  • dispensable
  • dispensability
  • dispenseth
  • dispensest
  • dispensableness
  • undispensable
  • dispensement
  • redispense
  • misdispense
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)pend- →