English
dismal
Dismal comes from Old French (li) dis mals ‘(the) bad days’, and goes back to Latin diēs.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiēs
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500diēs malī‘bad days’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400(li) dis mals‘(the) bad days’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400dismal
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1908same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiēs
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500diēs malī‘bad days’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400(li) dis mals‘(the) bad days’
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400dismal
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1908same form
Earliest quotation: 1908, Charles Lee Coon: “.[…] the proprietors of all the great unimproved tracts…”
Linked words
pairs
- dismal and journal both from Latin diēs
Every English word from Latin diēs
Today it means
adj Disastrous, calamitous.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin diēs / dismal