Etymologically
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dismiss

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /dɪsˈmɪs/; /dɪzˈmɪs/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dismissen, apparently borrowed from Latin dīmissus, the past participle of dīmittō (“to send away, discharge”),[2][3][4] with the prefix changed to dis- by analogy with many other verbs,[2][3] from dis- (“apart, away”) and mittō (“to send, let go”) (see mission).[3][2] Hoad and the New Oxford point to Medieval Latin dismissus and Old French desmis.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To release from legal charges or court restraint: the early 15th century in Etymonline, about 1432 in Barnhart.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

To remove from office or employment is from the late 15th century (about 1477 in the OED).[3][7] To send away or allow to leave is from the 1540s,[3][7] and to disperse an assembly from 1582.[7] To put out of one's mind, reject, is a later sense,[8][9] and in cricket, to put out a batsman, from 1875.[7] Middle English also had dismit.[3] Dismissal is from before 1806, replacing dismission (1547).[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1432 – to release.[2]
  • c. 1477 – to remove from office.[7]
  • 1540s – to send away.[3]
  • before 1806 – dismissal.[2]
  • 1875 – to dismiss a batsman.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To remove from a job or position; to discharge.
  2. To send away or allow to leave.
  3. To refuse to consider seriously; to reject.
  4. (law) To refuse further hearing to a case.
  5. (cricket) To put out a batsman or team.

Word family

  • dismissible
  • dismission
  • dismissive
  • dismissively
  • redismiss

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins