disappear

Pronunciation

• IPA: /dɪsəˈpɪə/ (UK); /dɪsəˈpɪɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + appear,^[2][3][4][5] on the pattern of French disparaître.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To cease to be visible: before 1420, in Lydgate's Troy Book;^[2] the early 15th century in Etymonline, and 1530 in the OED.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

Earlier words were disparish (early 15th century), from the stem of French desapparoistre, and unappear (mid-15th century).^[3] To cease to be present, pass away, is from 1665.^[7] The transitive sense, to cause to disappear, is attested from 1897 in chemistry,^[3][7] and of inconvenient people by 1948.^[3] Word Origins notes that the late-20th-century use of a person being disappeared, abducted and secretly killed or detained for political reasons, came from Latin America, especially Argentina.^[8][9] Disappearance is 18th-century,^[4] and the slang disappearing act, absconding, is attested by 1884, probably from magic shows.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1420 – to vanish.^[2]
• 1665 – to pass away.^[7]
• 1884 – disappearing act.^[3]
• 1897 – to cause to disappear.^[3]
• late 20th century – to be disappeared.^[8]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To pass out of sight; to vanish.
2. To go away or become lost, especially without explanation.
3. To cease to exist.
4. To arrest or abduct secretly and presumably kill a political opponent.

Word family

• disappearance
• nondisappearing
• undisappearing

Related words

• appear
• apparent
• vanish

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c 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. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins