English
diss
Diss may come from Proto-Italic *dis-.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dis-uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1905diss
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*dis-uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1905diss
Earliest quotation: 1905, A New Word: “When a journalistic rival tries to "dis" you And…”
The story
Originated in Jamaican English or African American Vernacular English, probably originally a clipping of disrespect or disparage, both from the prefix dis-, ultimately from Latin dis-.
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *dis-
debate, discover, discipline, disciplinary, disguise, diffuse, disciple, defraud, 14 more
Another origin of diss
- Proto-Semiticc. 4000–3000 BCE*daṯʔ-‘grass’reconstructed
- Arabicc. 500–presentثُدَّاءṯuddāʔ‘desert papyrus’
- Arabic, derivedc. 500–presentدِيس‘certain papery plants within the grass order (Poales)’
- Englishtodaydiss
Today it means
verb To put (someone) down, or show disrespect by the use of insulting language or dismissive behaviour.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *dis- / diss