"D" Word Origins

discernment

Latin

From Latin "discernere," to separate or distinguish, from "dis-" (apart) plus "cernere" (to sift).

discerp

Origin

From Latin discerpō, from dis- + carpō (“to pluck”).

discharge

Late Latin

From Middle English dischargen, from Old French deschargier ("to unload"), from Late Latin discarricare — built from dis- + charge.

disciple

Latin

From Latin discipulus, "pupil, learner," via Old English and Old French — the same root that gives us "discipline."

discipleship

Latin

From disciple, via Old French from Latin discipulus 'pupil, learner', from discere 'to learn', plus the noun suffix -ship denoting state or condition.

disciplinary

Latin

From Latin disciplina, "instruction, training," the same source as "discipline."

discipline

Latin

From Latin disciplina, "instruction," related to discipulus ("pupil") and discere ("to learn").

disciplineless

Origin

From discipline + -less.

disclaim

Origin

From Middle English disclaimen, from Anglo-Norman disclaimer, from Old French desclamer (French déclamer), des- + clamer.

disclaimer

French

From Anglo-Norman legal French desclaimer 'to renounce a claim', from des- 'away' and clamer 'to call, claim'.

disclose

Latin

From Old French desclore, "to unclose, uncover" — built from dis- plus Latin claudere, "to close."

disclosure

Origin

Formed from disclose plus the noun ending -ure, on the pattern of "closure."

discman

Origin

A trademark from disc + man, modelled on the earlier Walkman.

disco

French

A shortening of discotheque, itself from French discothèque.

discoloration

Origin

Built from discolor plus the noun suffix -ation.

discolour

Origin

From Middle English discolouren, discoloren, from Old French discolorer, descolorer, equivalent to dis- + colour.

discombobulate

Origin

Fanciful variant of discompose, discomfit, etc., originally discombobricate. The -bob- interfix may come from bobbery, meaning “commotion, noise”. First attested in 1834 in the United States.

discombobulated

English

A fanciful American formation of the nineteenth century, deliberately comic in shape; the exact model is not established.

discomfiting

Origin

From discomfit + -ing.

discomfiture

Origin

From Old French desconfiture (“rout, defeat”); compare French déconfiture.

discomfort

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman descomforter, built from dis- plus comfort.

discommendation

Origin

From dis- + commendation.

discommodate

Origin

From Latin discommodatus, past participle of discommodare, from dis- + commodare (“to make fit, help”).

disconcert

Origin

From Middle French desconcerter, from des- (“dis-”) + concerter (“to bring into agreement, organize”).

disconcerting

Origin

From disconcert plus the ending -ing.

disconnect

Latin

Built from dis- plus connect, ultimately from Latin connectere, "to bind together."

disconsolate

Origin

From Medieval Latin discōnsōlātus (“comfortless”), from dis- (“away”) + cōnsōlātus (“consoled”).

discontent

Origin

Built from dis- plus content, meaning the opposite of being satisfied.

discontentment

Origin

From dis- + contentment.

discontinuance

Origin

From Anglo-Norman, from Old French descontinuer.

discontinue

Old French

From Old French descontinuer, built from dis- plus continue.

discontinuity

Origin

From Late Latin discontinuitās, from discontinuus, equivalent to dis- + continuity.

discord

Latin

From Latin discordia, built from dis- ("apart") plus cor, cordis ("heart") — literally "hearts apart."

discordance

Origin

From Middle French discordance. By surface analysis, discord + -ance.

discordant

Latin

From Old French discordant, from Latin discordare, "to disagree," from discors, "of different hearts."

discordianism

Origin

From discord + -ian + -ism.

discotheque

French

Borrowed from French discothèque, originally meaning "record library," from disque ("disc/record") plus -thèque ("collection, storage place").

discount

Medieval Latin

From Old French desconter, "to reckon off," from Medieval Latin discomputare — built from dis- plus computare, "to count."

discourage

Old French

From Old French descouragier, built from des- ("dis-") plus corage ("courage, heart").

discourse

Latin

From Latin discursus, "the act of running about," from discurrere ("to run to and fro") — the sense shifted from "running around" to "talking around a topic."

discover

Latin

From Old French descovrir, "to uncover," from Latin dis- plus cooperire ("to cover completely") — literally, to remove a covering.

discovered

Latin

From Old French descovrir, from late Latin discooperire 'to uncover', from dis- 'un-' plus cooperire 'to cover'.

discoverer

Origin

From Middle English discoverour, dyscowerer, partly from Middle French descouvreur and partly equivalent to discover + -er.

discovery

Origin

Formed from discover plus -ery, following the pattern of "recover"/"recovery."

discredit

Origin

Built from dis- plus credit, in the sense of losing one's "credit" or good standing.

discreet

Latin

From Old French discret, from Latin discretus, "separated, distinguished" — a doublet of "discrete," which kept the spelling but split off the meaning.

discrepancy

Latin

From Latin discrepantia, "disagreement," from discrepare, "to sound differently" — built from dis- plus crepare, "to rattle or creak."

discrete

Latin

From Latin discretus, "separated," the same root as "discreet" — the two words split apart in spelling and meaning over time.