spite

Pronunciation

• IPA: /spaɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English, a shortening of despit, malice (see despite),^[2][3][4] from Old French despit, contempt (compare despise).^[5][6][7] It corresponds to Middle Dutch spijt and Middle Low German spyt.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Contempt, disdain, an act of insult: before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin;^[2][8] about 1300 in Etymonline.^[3]

Semantic evolution

A hostile or malevolent action is the first sense in the OED, now obsolete.^[8][9] A strong feeling of ill will or grudge is from about 1330.^[8] The phrase in spite of is from about 1400, in defiance or contempt of, hence notwithstanding.^[3][8][5] In the 17th century the word was commonly spelled spight.^[3][9] The verb, to regard with spite or despise, is from about 1400 (before 1400 in Barnhart),^[3][2] to fill with vexation from the 1560s, and to treat maliciously from the 1590s, as in cut off one's nose to spite one's face.^[3] A spite fence, put up to annoy a neighbour, is from 1899.^[8]

Timeline

• before 1300 – contempt; an insult.^[2]
• c. 1330 – ill will.^[8]
• c. 1400 – in spite of.^[3]
• before 1400 – to regard with spite (verb).^[2]
• 1590s – to treat maliciously.^[3]
• 1899 – spite fence.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Malicious ill will prompting a wish to hurt or humiliate.
2. An instance of such malice; a grudge.

Verb

1. To annoy or hurt deliberately out of spite.

Preposition

1. (in spite of) Regardless of; notwithstanding.

Word family

• spiteless
• spiteful
• unspited
• spite fence

Related words

• despite
• despise

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b 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. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press