"D" Word Origins

desk

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin desca, from Italian desco, ultimately from Latin discus ("disc, dish") — the same root behind "dish," "disc," and "dais."

desktop

Origin · 1980

A compound of "desk" and "top," first used for computers in the 1980s to describe machines meant to sit on an office desk.

Desmond

Origin

A pun on the name of actor and broadcaster Desmond Tutu — "Tutu" sounds like "2:2," the grade it refers to.

desolate

Latin

From Latin desolatus, past participle of desolare, "to leave alone, forsake" — from de- + solus ("alone").

desolation

Middle English

Inherited from Middle English desolacioun, from Middle French, Old French desolacion f, from Latin dēsōlātiō f.

despair

Latin

From Old French desperer, from Latin desperare, "to lose hope" — from de- + sperare ("to hope"). Related to "desperate."

despairing

Middle English

From Middle English despeyringe, equivalent to despair + -ing.

desparple

Origin

From Old French desparpeillier.

despect

Origin

From Middle English despect (“contempt, spite”), from Latin dēspectus (“a looking down upon, contempt”), from dēspicere (“to look down upon, despise, scorn”), from dē (“down”) + specere (“to look at, behold”), equivalent to de- + -spect.

desperado

Latin

From an old Spanish spelling of desesperado, "desperate," ultimately from Latin desperare, "to despair." A doublet of "desperate."

desperate

Latin

From Latin desperatus, "without hope" — built from de- ("without") and sperare ("to hope").

despicable

Late Latin

From Late Latin despicabilis, from despicere, "to look down on" — the same root as "despise".

despise

Latin

From Old French despire, from Latin despicere, "to look down upon" — from de- ("down") and specere ("to look").

despite

Latin

From Old French despit, from Latin despectus, "a looking down on" — from despicere, "to despise". The preposition grew out of the phrase "in despite of".

despiteful

Origin

From despite + -ful.

despoil

Origin

From Middle English despoylen, dispoylen, from Old French despoillier ( > French dépouiller), from Latin dēspoliō, dēspoliāre.

despondency

Origin

From Latin dēspondentia, from dēspondēns + -ia. Equivalent to despondent + -ency.

despondent

Latin

From Latin despondere, "to give up" or "to lose heart".

despot

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek despotes, "master" or "lord", via French and Medieval Latin.

despotic

Origin

From Ancient Greek δεσποτικός (despotikós) via French despotique, equivalent to despot + -ic.

despotism

Origin

From French despotisme; equivalent to despot + -ism.

desquamation

Origin

From Latin desquamare (“to scrape the scales off a fish”), from squāma (“scale”).

dessert

French

From French dessert, literally "what is served after clearing the table" — from desservir, "to clear away", the opposite of servir, "to serve".

dessertspoon

Origin

From dessert + spoon.

destabilize

Origin

From de- ("reverse of") plus stabilize.

destinate

Origin

The adjective is first attested in the first part of the 15th century, the verb in 1490, both in Middle English; borrowed from Latin dēstinātus, perfect passive participle of dēstinō, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix); doublet of destine. Computing/postal use by analogy with originate. Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

destination

Latin

From Latin destinatio, from destinare, "to make firm, to determine".

destinkify

Origin

de- + stink + -ify

destiny

Latin

From Old French destinee, from Latin destinare, "to determine or fix".

destitute

Latin

From Latin destitutus, past participle of destituere, "to abandon or forsake".

destitution

Origin

From Old French destitution, from Latin dēstitūtiō (“abandoning”), from dēstituō.

destreamline

Origin

From de- + streamline.

destroy

Latin

From Old French destruire, from Latin destruere, "to un-build" — from de- ("un-") and struere ("to build").

destroyer

Origin · 1800

Originally short for "torpedo-boat destroyer," a term coined in the late 1800s for ships built to hunt down torpedo boats.

destruct

Origin

A back-formation from "destruction" — the noun came first, and "destruct" was created from it.

destruction

Latin

From Latin destructio, from destruere, "to destroy".

destructive

Latin

From Latin destructivus, from destruere, "to destroy".

desublimate

Origin

From de- + sublimate.

desultory

Origin

From Latin dēsultōrius (“hasty, casual, superficial”), from dēsultor (“a circus rider who jumped from one galloping horse to another”), from dēsiliō (“jump down”), from dē (“down”) + saliō (“jump, leap”).

desume

Origin

Borrowed from Latin dēsūmō, dēsūmere, from dē- + sūmere (“to take”).

detach

Old French

From Old French destachier — from the same root as "attach", by adding the negating prefix "de-".

detachment

French

From French detachement, from detacher, "to detach".

detail

French

From French detail, from detailler, "to cut into pieces" — from de- and tailler ("to cut"), the same root as "tailor".

detain

Latin

From Old French detenir, from Latin detinere, "to hold back" — from de- and tenere ("to hold").

detainee

Origin

From detain + -ee, the suffix used for the person something is done to.

detainment

Origin

From detain + -ment.

detect

Latin

From Latin detegere, "to uncover" — from de- ("off") and tegere ("to cover").

detection

Latin

From Latin detectio, from detegere, "to uncover".