Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “dispersion” come from?

Dispersion comes from Middle English dispersioun, from Old French dispersion, from Latin dispertio meaning to distribute or divide, formed from the prefix dis- and pars meaning part, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European per- and dwóh₁.

dispersion (English): The state of being dispersed; dispersedness; A...

Definitions

  1. The state of being dispersed; dispersedness; A...

Ancestry of “dispersion”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdisperseTo scatter in different directions; To break up...
2Middle Englishdispersioun—
3Old Frenchdispersion—
4LatindispertioI divide; I distribute; I assign
5Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
6Latincalceusshoe
7Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
8Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “dispersion”

  • overdispersion
  • redispersion
  • macrodispersion
  • underdispersion
  • dispersionless
  • equidispersion
  • dedispersion
  • microdispersion
  • electrodispersion
  • nondispersion
  • polydispersion
  • nanodispersion
  • isodispersion
  • magnetodispersion
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →