Etymologically
Log in

disjointed

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word disjointed

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1593 Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European *yeug-

Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪsˈdʒɔɪn.tɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English disjoint + -ed,[2][3][4] the past-participle adjective of the verb disjoint, to separate at the joints.[5] The verb is recorded from about 1420[2] and comes from Old French desjoint, the past participle of desjoindre (“to disjoin”),[5][2] from Latin disiungō,[5] formed from dis- and iungō (“to join together”), from Proto-Indo-European *yeug- (“to join”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of words or a discourse, without proper connection; incoherent: 1593, in Sidney's Arcadia.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates this sense to about 1586,[6] and Etymonline to the 1580s.[5]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense came first, used of speech and writing that lack connection.[2][5][3] The literal sense, separated joint from joint, is recorded from before 1643, in Sandys,[2] or the 1640s in Etymonline,[5] and the sense "made up of ill-connected parts" from 1652, in Heylyn's Cosmographie.[2]

Timeline

  • 1593 – of speech or writing, disconnected, incoherent.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to about 1586.[6]
  • before 1643 – separated at the joints; disjoined.[2]
  • 1652 – made up of separated or ill-connected parts.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Lacking order or connection; incoherent: a disjointed speech that jumped from topic to topic.[7][6][2]
  2. Disconnected or disordered; made up of poorly connected parts.[6][2]
  3. Separated at the joint; dislocated: a disjointed knee.[7][6][2]

Word family

  • disjointedly
  • disjointedness
  • undisjointed

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Disjointed.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/disjointed. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·