dissiper

Forms

dissiper^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dissipō (“to scatter, rout, destroy”).^[2][3][4][5] The Latin verb is formed from dis- and a verb supō (“to throw”), known only from a gloss of Festus and in rare compounds.^[3][6][7] Its root vowel is uncertain: with ⟨u⟩ it would recall Lithuanian supti (“to rock”), with ⟨i⟩ Sanskrit क्षिपति (kṣipati, “he throws”), but it belongs to no well-established Indo-European series.^[3]

Littré compares Old Occitan dissipar, Spanish disipar and Italian dissipare.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1170 as the past participle dissipées, “destroyed, brought to nothing”, in Guillaume de Saint-Pair's Roman du Mont Saint-Michel.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb had the weakened sense “make cease by scattering”.^[3] It came to mean “squander, spend without counting” (1350, the Ancienne coutume de Normandie).^[2][3] In the classical period it was common where modern French uses dissoudre and disperser, for breaking up an assembly or a crowd.^[3][8]

In the 17th century it developed the sense “distract, amuse”, mostly in the past participle (Corneille, 1651–1656), which led to “made inattentive”, whence the modern dissipé “undisciplined”, said of a pupil.^[2][3][4] English dissipate has its own source in the Latin participle, but Anglo-Norman had dissiper “to scatter” by 1420.^[9]

Timeline

• 1170 – The past participle dissipées appears in the Roman du Mont Saint-Michel.^[2]
• 1297 – Recorded in the sense “destroy”.^[10]
• 1350 – It means “squander”.^[2]
• 1419 – The derivative dissipation is borrowed from Latin.^[3][4]
• 1420 – Anglo-Norman dissiper “scatter, disperse”.^[9]
• 1651–1656 – Corneille uses dissipé for “distracted”.^[2]
• 1701 – Gaieté dissipée is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To dispel, make disappear by scattering: Le vent a dissipé la brume.^[11][12][13]
2. (figurative) To dispel a feeling or misunderstanding: Sa lettre a dissipé nos soupçons..^[11][13]
3. To squander, spend recklessly: Il a dissipé l'argent de son père.^[11][13][1]
4. (literary) To distract someone from serious things;^[1][3] dissipé is said of an inattentive, undisciplined pupil.^[1][3]
5. (dated) To disperse a crowd or an army.^[2][7]
6. Se dissiper: to clear, vanish (of fog or a worry).^[11]

Word family

• dissipatif

Related words

• dissipateur
• dissipation
• Latin dissipō
• English dissipate

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 99a
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
13. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)