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disapproval

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Etymology and origin of the English word disapproval

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1649 Impartiall Intelligencer
Ultimate origin
Latin probus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English approve
English approval
English disapproval

Pronunciation

  • US: /dɪsəˈpɹuvəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + approval, after the verb disapprove;[2] Etymonline takes it from disapprove and the suffix -al, though it allows that it could equally be dis- and approval.[3][4] The OED compares the earlier nouns disapprovement and disapproving.[2] The verb approve is from Old French aprover (“to approve, agree to”), from Latin approbō (“to assent to as good”), from ad (“to”) and probō (“to try, test”), from probus (“honest, genuine”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of disapproving, an unfavourable opinion: 1649, in the newsbook Impartiall Intelligencer.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s, Merriam-Webster to 1662, and Dictionary.com to 1655–65.[3][5][4]

Semantic evolution

The noun is older than its positive: approval is recorded only from 1690 and, according to the OED, was rare before 1800, when it replaced the earlier approvance.[2][3] Disapproval was therefore modelled on the verb disapprove, which had meant "to disprove" in the late 15th century and took its sense of moral condemnation in the 1640s, just before the noun appears.[3][2] The meaning has stayed close to the verb's: the holding or showing of an unfavourable opinion, and the feeling of condemnation for something thought wrong.[2][6]

Timeline

  • 1649 – the action or fact of disapproving; condemnation.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1660s, Merriam-Webster to 1662.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The feeling or expression of an unfavourable opinion; censure or condemnation: Her frown showed her disapproval of the plan.[6][5][2]
  2. The act of disapproving of something.[6][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Disapproval.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/disapproval. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·