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Origin and history of despise

despise(v.)

"look down upon, scorn, disdain, treat with contempt," c. 1300, despisen, from Old French despis-, present-participle stem of despire "to despise," from Latin despicere "look down on, scorn," from de- "down" (see de-) + spicere/specere "to look at" (from PIE root *spek- "to observe"). Related: Despised; despising.

To despise is to look down upon with strong contempt from a superior position of some sort. To scorn is to have an extreme and passionate contempt for. To disdain is to have a high-minded abhorrence of, or a proud and haughty contempt of. [Century Dictionary]

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to despise

de-

active word-forming element in English and in many verbs inherited from French and Latin, from Latin de "down, down from, from, off; concerning" (see de), also used as a prefix in Latin, usually meaning "down, off, away, from among, down from," but also "down to the bottom, totally" hence "completely" (intensive or completive), which is its sense in many English words.

As a Latin prefix it also had the function of undoing or reversing a verb's action, and hence it came to be used as a pure privative — "not, do the opposite of, undo" — which is its primary function as a living prefix in English, as in defrost (1895), defuse (1943), de-escalate (1964), etc. In some cases, a reduced form of dis-.

*spek-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to observe."

It might form all or part of: aspect; auspex; auspices; auspicious; bishop; circumspect; conspicuous; despicable; despise; episcopal; especial; espionage; espy; expect; frontispiece; gyroscope; haruspex; horoscope; inspect; inspection; inspector; introspect; introspection; perspective; perspicacious; perspicacity; prospect; prospective; respect; respite; retrospect; scope; -scope; scopophilia; -scopy; skeptic; species; specimen; specious; spectacle; spectacular; spectrum; speculate; speculation; speculum; spice; spy; suspect; suspicion; suspicious; telescope.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit spasati "sees;" Avestan spasyeiti "spies;" Greek skopein "behold, look, consider," skeptesthai "to look at," skopos "watcher, one who watches;" Latin specere "to look at;" Old High German spehhon "to spy," German spähen "to spy."

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    contemn
    mid-15c., contempnen, "to slight or spurn," from Old French contemner (15c.) or directly from Latin contemnere "to despise, scorn, consider (something or someone) as of small value," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + *temnere "to slight
    scorn
    late 12c., scorn, skarn, "feeling or attitude of contempt; contemptuous treatment, mocking abuse," a shortening of Old French escarn "mockery, derision, contempt," a common Romanic word (Spanish escarnio, Italian scherno) of Germanic origin (source also of Old High German skern "
    disdain
    mid-14c., desdeinen, "think unworthy or worthless, look upon with contempt," from Old French desdeignier "disdain, scorn, refuse, repudiate" (Modern French dédaigner), from des- "do the opposite of" (see dis-) + deignier "treat as worthy," from Latin dignari "to deem worthy or fi
    revile
    now obsolete);" mid-14c., "insult, taunt, vilify, assail with abusive language," from Old French reviler "consider vile, despise...
    contempt
    from Old French contempt, contemps, and directly Latin contemptus "scorn," from past participle of contemnere "to scorn, despise...," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + *temnere "to slight, scorn, despise," which...
    contemptible
    " from Late Latin contemptibilis "worthy of scorn," from contempt-, past-participle stem of Latin contemnere "to scorn, despise...
    spurn
    to kick (away), strike against, drive back," as with the foot (a sense now obsolete); also "reject with disdain, scorn, despise...
    detest
    1530s, "execrate, hate, dislike intensely," also "to curse, to call God to witness and abhor," from French détester, from Latin detestari "to curse, execrate, abominate, express abhorrence for," literally "denounce with one's testimony," from de "from, down" (see de-) + testari "
    heat
    Old English hætu, hæto "heat, warmth, quality of being hot; fervor, ardor," from Proto-Germanic *haita- "heat" (source also of Old Saxon hittia, Old Norse hiti, Old Frisian hete, German hitze "heat," Gothic heito "fever"), from the same source as Old English hat "hot" and hæða "h
    pupil
    [student], late 14c., "orphan child, ward, person under the care of a guardian," from Old French pupille (14c.) and directly from Latin pupillus (fem. pupilla) "orphan child, ward, minor," diminutive of pupus "boy" (fem. pupa "girl"), probably related to puer "child" (and thus pr

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