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disreputable

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Etymology and origin of the English word disreputable

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1772 Annual Register More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origin
Latin reputō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pūtus
Latin putō
Latin reputō
English repute
English reputable
English disreputable
From the same root
Latin amputō ← putō
Latin computō ← putō
Latin dēputō ← putō
Latin disputō ← putō
Latin imputō ← putō
Latin reputātiō ← reputō

Pronunciation

  • /dɪsˈɹɛpjʊtəbəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English dis- + reputable,[2][3][4][5] after disrepute.[2][6] That adjective is from repute and -able,[2][3] and the verb is from Old French reputer and directly from Latin reputō (“to count over, reckon; think over”).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Such as to bring discredit: 1772, in the Annual Register for 1771.[2] Other dictionaries date the word earlier: Etymonline to the 1690s, for "having a bad reputation",[3] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged to about 1726.[4] Dictionary.com gives 1765–75, and the Shorter Oxford the late 18th century.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The word first described conduct or things that reflect discredit on someone.[2][6] In the OED it is applied to a person's standing, "in bad repute", only from 1828, when Webster's dictionary recorded it.[2] A noun for such a person follows in 1853, in Greville's diary.[2] For appearance, the Shorter Oxford joins character and looks in one sense, while Collins and Merriam-Webster Unabridged list a separate one of poor condition.[6][7][4]

Timeline

  • 1772 – bringing discredit, in the Annual Register.[2]
  • 1828 – having a bad reputation, in Webster's dictionary.[2] Etymonline dates this sense to the 1690s.[3]
  • 1853 – noun, a disreputable person, in Greville's diary.[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Having a bad reputation; not respectable: a disreputable moneylender.[4][2][7]
  2. Bringing discredit on someone; discreditable.[2][7]
  3. Shabby, worn or dirty in appearance: his disreputable old raincoat.[4][7]

Noun

  1. A disreputable person.[4][2][6]

Word family

  • disreputability
  • disreputably
  • disreputableness

References

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

“Disreputable.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/disreputable. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·