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dissideo

Etymology and origin of the Latin word dissideo

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*sed-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [dɪsˈsɪ.de.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [disˈsiː.de.o][1]

Forms

dissideō (present infinitive dissidēre, perfect active dissēdī); second conjugation, no supine stem, impersonal in the passive[1]

Etymology

It is from dis- “apart” and sedeō “to sit”.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces sedeō to the stative Proto-Indo-European *sed-eh₁- (“to be seated”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero, of things out of line and of disagreement.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

Its literal sense, to sit apart, be far away, is poetic and rare, as in Propertius' “far from the Eridanus” and in Seneca.[6][7][2] Cicero used it of a garment sitting awry and, most often, for to disagree, differ, be at variance.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant to disagree, differ.[8] Its present participle gave English dissident in the 1530s, “at variance”, and dissidentia gave English dissidence in the 1650s.[9]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of disagreeing.[2][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of sitting apart.[2][5]
  • 1530s – English dissident is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To sit apart, be distant.[2][6]
  2. To sit awry.[2]
  3. To disagree, differ.[2]

Word family

  • dissidentia
  • dissidium

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Dissideo.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/dissideo. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·