Where does “dispersal” come from?
Dispersal comes from English disperse, from Latin dispersus, the past participle of dispergere meaning "to scatter," from the prefix dis- meaning "apart" and a root from Proto-Indo-European dwís meaning "twice" or "in two."
dispersal (English): The act or result of dispersing or scattering;...
Definitions
- The act or result of dispersing or scattering;...
Ancestry of “dispersal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | disperse | To scatter in different directions; To break up... |
| 2 | Middle English | dispersioun | — |
| 3 | Old French | dispersion | — |
| 4 | Latin | dispertio | I divide; I distribute; I assign |
| 5 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 6 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 7 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |