dispatch English · revision 39780

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1517|origins=la dis-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /dɪˈspæt͡ʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /dɪˈspæt͡ʃ/, /dəˈspæt͡ʃ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|es|despachar|t=to expedite, hasten, send off]] or [[m|it|dispacciare|t=to send off, hasten]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986)^(ODE 2010) the Spanish and Italian verbs being formed with [[m|es|des-]], [[m|it|dis-]], the reversing prefix from [[la|dis-]], and the base of [[m|it|impacciare|t=to hinder]] and [[m|es|empachar|t=to impede, embarrass]].^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)^(Weekley 1921) Barnhart and Merriam-Webster take the Spanish and Italian words from [[pro|empachar|t=to impede]] or [[m|pro|despachar|t=to get rid of]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) while Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com trace them further to [[m|frm|despeechier|t=to set free]], the opposite of the verb behind [[impeach]].^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The source of the second element is uncertain:^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Ayto 2005) Barnhart derives it from [[la-vul|*impāctō]], a frequentative of [[m|la|impingō|t=to strike against]],^(Barnhart 1988) and Skeat and Klein from [[la-vul|*pactō|t=to fasten, fix]], from the root of [[m|la|pangō|t=to fasten]] and of [[pact]],^(Skeat 1911)^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline) while others have proposed [[la-lat|-pedicō|t=to entrap]], from [[m|la|pedica|t=shackle]].^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Weekley noted that the word absorbed the obsolete [[m|en|depeach]], from French [[m|fr|dépêcher]], which he thought unrelated.^(Weekley 1921) The noun, recorded from the 1530s, is formed from the verb, or taken from [[m|it|dispaccio]] or [[m|es|despacho]].^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To send off to a destination, usually with speed or on urgent business: 1517,^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) or the 1510s in Etymonline;^(Etymonline) the Shorter Oxford dates the verb to the early 16th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Within a few years the verb also meant to get rid of someone promptly by killing (1520s),^(Etymonline) and to settle or finish a piece of business (1530s).^(Etymonline) The noun first meant the dismissal of someone, such as an ambassador, once business was settled (1540s), a sense obsolete by the late 17th century;^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) it meant speed or promptness from the 1570s, which survives in ''with dispatch'',^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) and a written message sent quickly from the 1580s.^(Etymonline) The sense "a sending off" followed about 1600.^(Etymonline) The spelling ''despatch'', common in Britain, arose by confusion with the ''des-'' of other words;^(Klein 1966)^(Skeat 1911) Skeat and Klein note that ''dispatch'' is the older and correct form.^(Skeat 1911)^(Klein 1966) The noun ''happy dispatch'' was a joking name for hara-kiri.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1517 – verb, to send off promptly.^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1520s – to kill.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1530s – to settle, finish (business).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1540s – noun, dismissal after settling business.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – speed, promptness.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1580s – a message sent with speed.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1600 – a sending off.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[send]] someone or something off to a place or for a purpose, especially quickly: ''The agency dispatched two engineers to the site.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To deal with a task or problem quickly and efficiently.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # To [[kill]]: ''The hunter dispatched the wounded deer.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # (informal) To eat up quickly.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of sending someone or something off: ''the dispatch of aid to the flooded region''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # An official report or message, especially a military or diplomatic one; a news report sent by a correspondent.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Speed or efficiency, especially in the phrase ''with dispatch''.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)

+ # The act of killing.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dispatcher]]

+ * [[undispatched]]

+ * [[dispatch case]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[impeach]]

+ * [[impede]]

+ * [[pact]]

+ * [[despatch]]

+ * [[expedite]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Both spellings, ''dispatch'' and ''despatch'', are in use, the second mainly in British English.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}