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dispareo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word dispareo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 485–c. 580 AD, Cassiodorus
Ultimate origin
Latin pāreō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pareo
Latin dispareo
From the same root
Latin appareo ← pareo

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪsˈpaː.re.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [disˈpaː.re.o][1]

Forms

dispāreō (present infinitive dispārēre, perfect active dispāruī, supine dispāritum); second conjugation[1] Medieval texts also write diss-.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- + pāreō (“to appear”),[1][3] formed like compāreō.[3] It survives in Italian sparire and disparire and in French disparaître.[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cassiodorus has it in his commentary on the Psalms: the storm, at God's command, vanished into the air.[3][4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It is a Late Latin word for vanishing from sight:[4] the Complexiones on Acts use it of Philip, who disappeared in an instant, and Jordanes of a hind that vanished once the land had appeared.[3] Gregory the Great says that the crowd of evil spirits vanished, and that the joy of the hypocrite appears for a moment but vanishes for ever.[3]

Medieval writers used it of a comet (Paul the Deacon), of failing sight and of a false prophet who was unmasked,[2] and also for “to cease”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus, of a storm that vanished.[3][4][6]
  • 787–799 – Paul the Deacon, of a comet.[2][6]
  • 1147 – The annals of Schäftlarn, of a false prophet.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To vanish, disappear.[3][4][5][2][7][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) To cease.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Dispareo.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/dispareo. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·