Etymologically
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disadvantage

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:42. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˌdɪsədˈvɑːntɪdʒ/, /ˌdɪsədˈvæntɪd͡ʒ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English disavauntage, also desavauntage,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French desavantage,[3][6][5][7][8][2] formed from des- (“not, the opposite of”) and avantage (“advantage, profit”),[3][5][7] from avant (“before”), from Latin abante (“from before”).[5] The revised OED takes the English word as formed from dis- and advantage after the Anglo-Norman desavauntage and Middle French desavantage.[9] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1308–09.[10] The modern spelling with d follows advantage, whose d was inserted under the influence of Latin ad-.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Loss, harm or damage to one's interests: before 1387, in Trevisa's translation of Higden's Polychronicon.[9][6][3]

Semantic evolution

From about 1425, in Lydgate's Troy Book, it also meant the lack of an advantage, an unfavourable position, especially in the phrase at a disadvantage;[9][2] the sense of a particular circumstance that makes success harder, a handicap, is recorded from 1549 (Etymonline: the 1520s).[9][3] The verb, to put at a disadvantage, followed in the 1530s or about 1550,[3][4][9] and its participle disadvantaged was used from 1611;[9][3] its sense "lacking social or economic opportunities" dates from 1893 in the OED and 1902 in Etymonline, and it was popularized by sociologists.[9][3] Johnson (1755) gave "loss; injury to interest" and the lessening of credit, fame or honour.[11]

Timeline

  • a1387 – detriment, harm to one's interests.[9][6]
  • c. 1425 – an unfavourable position, also in at disadvantage.[9][2]
  • 1534 – verb, to put at a disadvantage (Merriam-Webster's date).[4]
  • 1549 – an unfavourable feature or circumstance, a handicap.[9]
  • c. 1550 – verb, in the OED.[9]
  • 1567 – to disadvantage, so as to show something unfavourably.[9]
  • 1611 – disadvantaged, placed at a disadvantage.[9][3]
  • 1893 – disadvantaged, socially or economically deprived.[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A circumstance or feature that makes success harder; a drawback or handicap: The small engine is the main disadvantage of this model.
  2. An unfavourable position, especially in at a disadvantage: Without a map, the visitors were at a disadvantage.
  3. Loss, harm or damage, especially in to someone's disadvantage.

Verb

  1. To put at a disadvantage; to affect unfavourably.

Word family

  • disadvantageous

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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 c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ 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 e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.