disdainful

Etymology

It is formed from English disdain + -ful.^[2][3][4][5] The base noun is Middle English desdeyn, earlier dedeyne, from Old French desdeigne, from the verb desdeignier (“to disdain, scorn”),^[3] formed from des- and deignier (“to treat as worthy”), from Latin dignor (“to deem worthy”), from dignus (“worthy”), from Proto-Indo-European *dek- (“to take, accept”).^[3] An earlier adjective was disdainous, from the late 14th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Full of or showing disdain, scornful: before 1542, in a poem by T. Wyatt, Vnder disdaynfull browe.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to about 1542,^[6] Etymonline to the 1540s,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1535–45.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the adjective could also point the other way, at what is disdained: Surrey's translation of Virgil, before 1547, has “my yeres disdainfull to the Gods” for Latin invisus, and this sense of "hateful" was gone by 1590.^[2][4] A record of 1548–50 uses it for "indignant, displeased, hostile".^[2] From 1580, in Lyly, it could take an infinitive or of.^[2] Early modern English sometimes shortened it to sdainful.^[3] Johnson (1755) gave "contemptuous; haughtily scornful; indignant".^[7]

Timeline

• before 1542 – full of or showing disdain, scornful.^[2][6]
• before 1547 – that is the object of indignation or disdain, hateful (obsolete by 1590).^[2][4]
• 1548 – indignant, displeased, hostile (obsolete by 1550).^[2]
• 1580 – followed by an infinitive or of.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Feeling or showing disdain; scornful and haughty toward what seems unworthy: He gave the cheap souvenir a disdainful glance.^[8][6][2]
2. Followed by of or an infinitive, too proud for something: She was disdainful of advice from her juniors.^[2][4]
3. (obsolete, before 1547–1590) Hateful; being the object of indignation or disdain.^[2][4]

Word family

• disdainfully
• disdainfulness

Related words

• disdain
• deign
• dignity

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins