disposal English · revision 10571

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1630|origins=en dispose}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /dɪˈspəʊ.zəl/, US /dɪˈspoʊ.zəl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[dispose]] and [[-al]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The power or right to dispose of or make use of something: 1630 in the OED and Merriam-Webster, the 1620s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Arranging or regulating by right of power and getting rid of or settling something are both from 1648,^(OED 1989) and bestowing, as of a daughter in marriage or money by will, from the 1650s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Parting with property by sale is from 1697.^(OED 1989) The discarding of waste material is a sense of about 1960, first in medicine,^(Etymonline) and the American ''garbage disposal'' unit is a shortening.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1630 – the power to dispose of.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1648 – getting rid of.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1660 – a bestowal.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1960 – waste disposal.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or means of getting rid of something: ''waste disposal''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''at one's disposal'': available for one to use as one wishes.^(Collins 2023)

+ # Transfer by gift or sale.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Arrangement or placement in a particular order.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(US)'' A device under a sink that grinds up food waste.^(AHD)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nondisposal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[disposition]]

+ * [[dispose]]

+ * [[propose]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}