Etymologically
Log in

depart

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 26 October 2026 at 00:09. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /dɪˈpɑːt/, /dɪˈpɑɹt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English departen,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French departir (“to divide, distribute; to separate oneself, leave; to die”),[5][6][7][8] from Late Latin departiō (“to divide”),[7][5][1] which Ayto calls Vulgar Latin;[9] the OED and Hoad explain it as a Romance remaking of dispertiō (“to divide”), with dē- in place of dis-.[6][10][9] The Latin verb is formed on partiō (“to part, divide”), from pars (“part”),[5][3][9] which Etymonline takes from Proto-Indo-European *pere- (“to grant, allot”).[5] The Old French verb has parallels in Old Occitan departir, Spanish departir and Italian dipartire.[6] In Anglo-Norman departir is recorded from 1113–19, meaning to divide, share out and separate.[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

To part from each other: about 1250, according to Barnhart,[7] and in the mid-13th century according to Etymonline.[5] The OED dates the verb from 1225.[6]

Semantic evolution

Ayto notes that the notions of division and separation had already produced the intransitive sense "go away" in Old French;[9] Weekley explains the modern sense from the reflexive use, as with French partir.[12] In Middle English the word kept both groups of meanings: to divide into parts (1297), to distribute or share (before 1340) and to separate people or things,[6] as well as to go away, from about 1300, and to leave or quit, from the late 14th century.[5][2] Chaucer used it 84 times, for leaving, separating and dividing.[13] The Wycliffite Bible says that the shepherd "departith scheep fro kidis".[14] As a euphemism for "to die", in depart this life, it is recorded from about 1500, together with the departed for the dead.[5][8] The old sense "to separate" was forgotten by 1662, when Puritan divines objected to till death us depart in the marriage service, and the words were changed to till death us do part.[14][12][5] In Scotland and Lincolnshire it was a dialect word for "to die".[15] A noun depart, departure or death, was used from about 1330 to 1840.[6][8]

Timeline

  • 1225 – the OED's first record.[6]
  • c. 1250 – to part from each other.[7][5]
  • 1297 – to divide into parts; to separate (both now obsolete).[6]
  • c. 1300 – to go away, withdraw.[5]
  • c. 1330 – noun, a departure; death (obsolete by 1840).[6]
  • before 1340 – to distribute, share out (obsolete by 1639).[6]
  • late 14th century – to leave, quit.[5]
  • c. 1500 – to die, with the departed for the dead.[5]
  • 1662 – till death us depart becomes till death us do part.[14][12]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To go away; to leave, especially to set out on a journey: The last bus departs at midnight.[16][4][8]
  2. depart from: to deviate or differ from a usual course, rule or standard: The new edition departs from the original in several ways.[16][4]
  3. To die.[4][8]
  4. (archaic) To leave a place, now chiefly in depart this life.[16][8]
  5. (obsolete, 1297–1677) To divide into parts; to separate or part people or things.[6][8]

Noun

  1. (archaic) A departure; also, death.[4][6][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  12. ^ a b c Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  13. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  14. ^ a b c Trench, Richard Chenevix (1859), A Select Glossary of English Words Used Formerly in Senses Different from Their Present, London: John W. Parker
  15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  16. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins