Talk:dis-

This entry has passed Wiktionary's verification process without prejudice.

This means that, while adequate citation may not have been recorded, discussion has concluded that usage is widespread and content is accurate
Please do not re-nominate for verification without comprehensive reasons for doing so. See Wiktionary’s criteria for inclusion

---

dis-

Sense 3. Given that gruntled is a back-formation, are there any cases where this is used productively in modern English? -- Visviva 02:52, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

I've looked through the dis- words in my concordance to Shakespeare. I didn't spot any uses that used the "intensifying" sense you've asked about. --EncycloPetey 03:23, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Etymonline: "from dis- "entirely, very" + obs. gruntle "to grumble," frequentative of grunt (q.v.)." Circeus 03:34, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Saith the OED:

With verbs having already a sense of division, solution, separation, or undoing, the addition of dis- was naturally intensive, ‘away, out and out, utterly, exceedingly’, as in disperīre to perish utterly, dispudēre to be utterly ashamed, distædēre to be utterly wearied or disgusted; hence it became an intensive in some other verbs, as dīlaudāre to praise exceedingly, discup&ebreve;re to desire vehemently, dissuavīrī to kiss ardently. In the same way, English has several verbs in which dis- adds intensity to words having already a sense of undoing, as in disalter, disaltern, disannul.

[link — requires subscription]

And the OED agrees with Etymonline that (deprecated template usage) disgruntle comes from this sense of (deprecated template usage) dis-, plus the frequentative of (deprecated template usage) grunt. Even so, our definition isn't terribly helpful: until I read the OED's explanation, I had no idea what it meant. It needs a rewrite.

—Ruakh_TALK 04:05, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

Two

e.g. disdiapason might suggest another sense (the number two). Equinox ◑ 19:14, 9 April 2012 (UTC)