despite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪˈspaɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English despit,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French despit (modern French dépit),^[4][3] from Latin dēspectus (“a looking down on, scorn, contempt”),^[4][2] from the past participle of dēspicere (“to look down on, scorn”),^[4][3] from dē- (“down”) and specere (“to look at”),^[4] from Proto-Indo-European *spek- (“to observe”).^[4] The preposition is short for in despite of, a loan translation of Old French en despit de.^[3][4][2] It is related to despise.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The noun, “contemptuous challenge, defiance; an act meant to insult”: about 1300,^[4] 1297 in the OED,^[6] or probably before 1300.^[3]

Semantic evolution

“Scorn, contempt” is from the mid-14th century,^[4] and “indignation, anger, malice” from about 1325.^[6] In despite of, “in defiance of”, is from about 1300,^[4][3] and the preposition alone, “notwithstanding”, from before 1420, in Lydgate's Troy Book,^[3] or the early 15th century.^[4] The word nearly became despight in the spelling reforms of the 16th century.^[4] The noun and the verb, “to show contempt for”, are now archaic.^[7][6]

Timeline

• 1297 – contemptuous treatment.^[6]
• c. 1300 – in despite of.^[4][3]
• mid-14th century – scorn, contempt.^[4]
• 1375 – verb, to treat with contempt.^[6]
• before 1420 – preposition, notwithstanding.^[3]

Modern meaning

Preposition

1. In spite of; notwithstanding.

Noun

1. (archaic) Contemptuous defiance.
2. (archaic) Spite; malice.

Word family

• despiteful

Related words

• despise
• spite
• despicable
• spectacle
• spy

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 The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e 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