Etymologically
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disappear

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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