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dissent

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Etymology and origin of the English word dissent

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1425 Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland
Borrowed from
Latin dissentio via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin sentiō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sentio
Aromanian sãmtu
French sentir
Italian sentire
Latin dissentio
English dissent
From the same root
Latin praesentio ← sentio
Latin sensibilis ← sentio
Latin sensilis ← sentio
Latin sensim ← sentio
Latin sensitivus ← sentio
Latin sensus ← sentio
Latin sentimentum ← sentio
French ressentir ← sentir
French sentiment ← sentir
Italian sentimento ← sentire

Pronunciation

  • UK: /dɪˈsɛnt/[1]
  • US: /dɪˈsɛnt/, /dəˈsɛnt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English dissenten,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin dissentiō (“to differ in sentiment, disagree”),[5][3][4][6][7] perhaps also by way of Middle French dissentir, which is recorded from the 15th century.[6][3][8][5] The Latin verb is formed from dis- (“apart, differently”) and sentiō (“to feel, think”),[5][6][3][7] which the American Heritage Dictionary places under the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *sent-.[4] The noun, first recorded in 1585, is from the verb.[6][5][9] The verb is related to sense, assent, consent and resent,[7] and dissension comes from the Latin past participle.[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

To withhold assent or consent; to disagree with or object to an action: about 1425, in Andrew of Wyntoun's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland,[5] which is why Barnhart labels the first record Scottish.[6] The MED's earliest quotations, from Lydgate and Pecock, have the same sense.[2]

Semantic evolution

By 1536, in Tyndale, the verb also meant simply to think differently from someone.[5] From before 1555 it was used of differing from the doctrine or worship of a church, especially the established one.[5][3] For a time it could also mean to quarrel (1538–1743) or to differ in sense or nature (1539–1660).[5] The noun began in 1585 in that religious sense, in Archbishop Sandys's sermons,[5][3] and was used from 1596, in Spenser, for any difference of opinion;[5] the sense "refusal of a proposal, the opposite of consent" followed in 1651.[5][3] From 1772 it named the refusal to conform to an established church,[3] the OED's first quotation for this being Burke's speech of 1772, printed in 1812;[5] in 1792 Burke also used it for the dissenting part of the community as a whole.[5] The specialised sense of dissenter, a Protestant outside the Church of England, dates from the 17th century.[11] Johnson (1755) defined the noun as disagreement or a declaration of difference of opinion.[12] In law, a dissent is a judge's statement that he or she does not agree with the majority of the court.[13][9]

Timeline

  • c. 1425 – verb, to withhold assent, to object.[5][6]
  • 1536 – to differ in opinion from someone.[5]
  • 1538 – to quarrel (obsolete by 1743).[5]
  • before 1555 – to differ from the doctrine of a church.[5]
  • 1585 – noun, difference of opinion on religious doctrine or worship.[5][6]
  • 1596 – noun, difference of opinion in general.[5]
  • 1651 – noun, disagreement with a proposal, the opposite of consent.[5]
  • 1772 – noun, refusal to conform to an established church.[3]
  • 1792 – the dissenting section of the community.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To disagree with an opinion or decision, or to refuse to give one's assent: Two members of the board dissented from the plan.[13][9][5]
  2. To refuse to conform to the doctrines or practices of an established church.[13][5]

Noun

  1. A difference of opinion; disagreement, especially with an official or majority view: The decision passed without dissent.[13][9][5]
  2. Separation from an established church; nonconformity.[13][9][5]
  3. (law) A judge's statement of disagreement with the decision of the majority of a court; a dissenting opinion.[13][9]

Word family

  • dissentingly
  • dissenter
  • dissentious

Usage notes

Dictionary.com lists dissent, descent and decent as words that are easily confused.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  10. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  12. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Dissent.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/dissent. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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