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
- To issue, distribute, or give out; To apply, as...
Ancestry of “dispense”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | dispenser | — |
| 2 | Latin | dispensare | present active infinitive of dispēnsō;... |
| 3 | Latin | dispendere | to weight out; weigh out; to weigh out |
| 4 | Latin | pendēre | — |
| 5 | Latin | pendō | to weigh, weigh out |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | pendō | hang, put in a hanging position |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)péndeti | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)pend- | to stretch |