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dismissive

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Etymology and origin of the English word dismissive

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1645 John Milton, Tetrachordon More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Latin mittō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English dismiss
English dismissive
From the same root
English dismissal ← dismiss

Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪsˈmɪsɪv/[1]
  • US: /dəsˈmɪsɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dismiss + -ive.[2][3][4][5] Dismiss is apparently from Latin dīmittō (“to send away”), from its past participle dīmissus, with the prefix spelled dis- after the older verb dismit, from Old French desmetre.[2] Etymonline analyses the Latin verb as dis- (“apart, away”) and mittō (“to send, let go”),[3] the source of mission.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Characterized by dismissal; tending to dismiss, valedictory: 1645, in John Milton's Tetrachordon.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1640s[3] and Dictionary.com to 1635–45.[5]

Semantic evolution

For nearly three centuries the adjective described what sends someone away or brings something to an end.[2][3] The modern sense, treating something as unworthy of consideration, is recorded from 1930 in the OED;[2] Etymonline finds it implied by 1922 in the adverb dismissively,[3] the date the 1989 edition of the OED gave for that adverb.[6] The American Heritage Dictionary gives both senses, the second as showing indifference or disregard.[7]

Timeline

  • 1645 – characterized by dismissal; tending to dismiss.[2][3]
  • 1930 – rejecting something as insignificant; contemptuous.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Showing that one regards someone or something as unworthy of attention; disdainful or contemptuous: He answered the question with a dismissive shrug.[8][7][2][4]
  2. Serving to dismiss or send away; valedictory.[8][7][2]

Word family

  • dismissively

References

  1. ^ a b 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 g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b 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. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dismissive.” Etymologically, 8 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/dismissive. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·