Wordwyrt

despair

/dɪsˈpeə/dih-SPUH
/dɪsˈpɛɹ/dih-SPER

Meaningto lose hope

Common meaning: to lose all hope

‘down, away, off’ + ‘to hope’ → despair

Journey through time

  1. Aryan root · reconstructed√SPA or SPAN‘draw out, extend, increase’No written record; from Skeat’s list of Aryan roots, no. 436, p. 746 · scan
  2. Latinspērō; spēs‘to hope’
  3. Frenchdesperer
  4. Middle Englishdispeirensource
  5. Englishdespair‘to lose all hope’ · today

de- also in: deterdecampdecidededucedefame

spair also in: prosperdesperate

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin spērō; spēs ‘to hope; hope’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry spērō, p. 1740 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

desperateprosper

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