Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “disturbance” come from?

Disturbance comes from Old French destorbance, derived from Old French destourber, from Latin disturbo, combining the Latin prefix dis- with turba meaning crowd or disorder, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dwís and dwóh₁.

disturbance (English): The act of disturbing, being disturbed; Something...

Definitions

  1. The act of disturbing, being disturbed; Something...

Ancestry of “disturbance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchdestorbance—
2Old Frenchdestourberdisturb
3LatindisturboI disturb; I demolish, destroy
4Latindis-asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;...
5Latincalceusshoe
6Latincalxlimestone; chalk; the finish line
7Ancient Greekχάλιξsmall stone, pebble; gravel, rubble

Words derived from “disturbance”

  • nondisturbance
  • antidisturbance
  • indisturbance
Every word from Ancient Greek χάλιξ →