Skip to content

Table of Contents

The word for today is…

disparage (verb):

1: to belittle the importance or value of (someone or something) : to speak slightingly about (someone or something)

2: to lower (someone or something) in rank or reputation : degrade

Source : Merriam -Webster

Etymology : In Middle English, to "disparage" someone meant causing that person to marry someone of inferior rank. Disparage derives from the Anglo-French word desparager, meaning "to marry below one's class." Desparager, in turn, combines the negative prefix des- with parage (meaning "equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from per, meaning "peer." The original "marriage" sense of disparage is now obsolete, but a closely-related sense (meaning "to lower in rank or reputation") survives in modern English. By the 16th century, English speakers (including William Shakespeare) were also using disparage to mean simply "to belittle."

If you enjoyed this Good Oil word of the day please consider sharing it with your friends and, especially, your children.

Latest

Why the Government Runs Like a Bloated Chrome Tab

Why the Government Runs Like a Bloated Chrome Tab

The point here isn’t to argue whether Jeff Bezos should or shouldn’t pay more tax. The point is that Congress’s approach is entirely wrong. They should instead invest their energy into ensuring maximum productivity… which ultimately means fewer regulations, and in general staying out of the way.

Members Public