desperate English · revision 6012

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1400|origins=la despero}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdes.pər.ət/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English desperat, [[bor|la|dēspērātus|t=given up, despaired of]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) the past participle of [[m|la|dēspērāre|t=to despair, lose all hope]] (see [[despair]]),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from dē “without” and spērāre “to hope”, from spēs “hope”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from the PIE root [[ine-pro|*speh₁-|alt=*spes-|t=prosperity]] (see [[speed]]).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of persons, having lost all hope, despairing: probably about 1400 in Barnhart and Etymonline, 1483 in the OED;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) this sense is now obsolete.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of persons driven to recklessness by despair, without care for safety, it is from the late 15th century, about 1489 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Of conditions, extremely serious, leaving little hope, is from the 1550s,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) of actions done without regard for the consequences from the 1570s,^(Etymonline) and of things given up as hopeless from 1581.^(OED 1989) The weakened sense, having a great need or desire for something, is colloquial from the 1950s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) As a noun, a desperate person, it is from the mid-16th century, now rare.^(SOED 2002) ''Desperation'' is older, about 1370, in Chaucer.^(Barnhart 1988) In dialect use, desperate is common as an intensive, “very, extremely”.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1370 – ''desperation''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – despairing.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1489 – reckless from despair.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1550s – extremely serious.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1570s – of actions, reckless.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1950s – in great need.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Reckless or dangerous because of [[despair]]: ''a desperate criminal''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Done as a last resort: ''a desperate attempt''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Extremely serious or dangerous; nearly hopeless: ''a desperate situation''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Having a great need or desire: ''desperate for a drink''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Having lost hope; despairing.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[desperately]]

+ * [[desperateness]]

+ * [[desperation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[despair]]

+ * [[desperado]]

+ * [[hope]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}