Etymology of the English word despise
the English word
despisederived from the Old French word
despirederived from the Latin word
despicere (look down on, over; relax attention)
derived from the Latin word
specere (to look at; look at, see)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*spek-using the Late Latin prefix
de-derived from the Latin word
de (away; down)
derived from the Latin word
spicere (look at, see)
Date
The earliest known usage of despise in English dates from the 13th century.
Derivations in English
despised,
despisingUsage
Word found in Modern English
