Etymologically
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dispendo

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Forms

dispendō (present infinitive dispendere, perfect active dispendī, supine dispēnsum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dis- + pendō (“to weigh, pay”).[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨pendō⟩ to Proto-Italic *pend-e/o- (“to hang; weigh”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to spin”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD, Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Varro's Dē linguā Latīnā.[2][4][5] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to weigh out, distribute by paying or weighing out, as in Varro, and Lewis & Short call it ante- and post-classical.[2][4][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means to weigh out, dispense.[7]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To weigh out, distribute, dispense.[2][7]

Word family

  • dispendium
  • dispensiō

Usage notes

A second dispendō is a by-form of dispandō “to spread out”.[2][4][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson