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Origin and history of indisposed

indisposed(adj.)

c. 1400, "unprepared;" early 15c., "not in order," from in- (1) "not" + disposed; or else from Late Latin indispositus "without order, confused." From mid-15c. in English as "diseased;" modern sense of "not very well, slightly ill" is from 1590s. A verb indispose is attested from 1650s but perhaps is a back-formation of this, rather than its source, or from French indisposer.

also from c. 1400

Entries linking to indisposed

disposed(adj.)

late 14c., "inclined, in the mood, having a mind (to do something)," past-participle adjective from dispose. Meaning "having a particular turn of mind or mental tendency" (with well-, ill-, etc.) is from early 15c.

in-(1)

word-forming element meaning "not, opposite of, without" (also im-, il-, ir- by assimilation of -n- with following consonant, a tendency which began in later Latin), from Latin in- "not," cognate with Greek an-, Old English un-, all from PIE root *ne- "not."

In Old French and Middle English often en-, but most of these forms have not survived in Modern English, and the few that do (enemy, for instance) no longer are felt as negative. The rule of thumb in English has been to use in- with obviously Latin elements, un- with native or nativized ones.

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    averse
    mid-15c., "turned away in mind or feeling, disliking, unwilling," from Old French avers "hostile, antagonistic" and directly from Latin aversus "turned away, turned back," past participle of avertere "to turn away," from ab "off, away from" (see ab-) + vertere "to turn" (see vers
    peaked
    "sickly-looking; having an unhealthy, emaciated appearance," 1835, from past participle of the obsolete or dialectal verb peak "look sickly or thin, shrink, waste away" (1540s), which is perhaps from peak on the notion of "become pointed" through emaciation. Middle English had al
    seedy
    mid-15c., sēdi, "fruitful, abundant" (Of bounteuousnesse þat hous was ful sedy), from seed (n.) + -y (2). From 1570s as "abounding in seeds." The modern meaning "shabby, no longer fresh or new" is attested by 1725, slang, originally especially "poor, out of money;" probably in re
    inert
    Of persons or creatures, "indisposed or unable to move or act," from 1774....
    Monday
    Clergymen, meanwhile, when indisposed complained of feeling Mondayish (1804) in reference to effects of Sunday's labors....
    under
    Under the weather "indisposed" is from 1810....
    holt
    Old English holt "woods, forest, grove, thicket," common in place names, from Proto-Germanic *hultam- (source also of Old Frisian, Old Norse, Middle Dutch holt, Dutch hout, German Holz "a wood, wood as timber"), from PIE *kldo- (source also of Old Church Slavonic klada "beam, tim
    influence
    late 14c., an astrological term, "streaming ethereal power from the stars when in certain positions, acting upon character or destiny of men," from Old French influence "emanation from the stars that acts upon one's character and destiny" (13c.), also "a flow of water, a flowing
    fatigue
    1660s, "that which causes weariness," from French fatigue "weariness," from fatiguer "to tire" (15c.), from Latin fatigare "to weary, to tire out," originally "to cause to break down," from pre-Latin adjective *fati-agos "driving to the point of breakdown," with first half from O
    change
    c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

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