desperate

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdes.pər.ət/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English desperat, borrowed from Latin dēspērātus (“given up, despaired of”),^[2][3][4] the past participle of dēspērāre (“to despair, lose all hope”) (see despair),^[2][3][5] from dē “without” and spērāre “to hope”, from spēs “hope”,^[2][4] from the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *spes- (“prosperity”) (see speed).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of persons, having lost all hope, despairing: probably about 1400 in Barnhart and Etymonline, 1483 in the OED;^[3][2][6] this sense is now obsolete.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Of persons driven to recklessness by despair, without care for safety, it is from the late 15th century, about 1489 in the OED.^[2][6] Of conditions, extremely serious, leaving little hope, is from the 1550s,^[2][6] of actions done without regard for the consequences from the 1570s,^[2] and of things given up as hopeless from 1581.^[6] The weakened sense, having a great need or desire for something, is colloquial from the 1950s.^[2][6] As a noun, a desperate person, it is from the mid-16th century, now rare.^[7] Desperation is older, about 1370, in Chaucer.^[3] In dialect use, desperate is common as an intensive, “very, extremely”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – desperation.^[3]
• c. 1400 – despairing.^[3][2]
• c. 1489 – reckless from despair.^[6]
• 1550s – extremely serious.^[2]
• 1570s – of actions, reckless.^[2]
• 1950s – in great need.^[2][6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Reckless or dangerous because of despair: a desperate criminal.
2. Done as a last resort: a desperate attempt.
3. Extremely serious or dangerous; nearly hopeless: a desperate situation.
4. Having a great need or desire: desperate for a drink.
5. Having lost hope; despairing.

Word family

• desperately
• desperateness
• desperation

Related words

• despair
• desperado
• hope

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ 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)