dis-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "dis"

English

Alternative forms

• di-, dif-

Etymology

From Middle English dis-, borrowed from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪs/

Prefix

dis-

2. Not, the reverse of. (Especially forming words with a negative connotation)

   Synonyms: un-, non-, de-, in-, an-, a-

   ‎dis- + ‎agree → ‎disagree

   ‎dis- + ‎connect → ‎disconnect

   ‎dis- + ‎satisfied → ‎dissatisfied

   ‎dis- + ‎interested → ‎disinterested

   ‎dis- + ‎honour → ‎dishonour

4. Expressing separation or removal.

   ‎dis- + ‎card → ‎discard (“to throw out a card”)

   ‎dis- + ‎bar → ‎disbar (“to expel from the bar”)

   ‎dis- + ‎franchise → ‎disfranchise (“to remove one's franchise, to prevent from voting”)

6. Used as an intensifier.

   ‎dis- + ‎embowel → ‎disembowel

   ‎dis- + ‎annul → ‎disannul (“to annul”)

8. Alternative form of dys- (“incorrect”)

   ‎dis- + ‎function → ‎disfunction

Usage notes

• When attached to a verbal root, prefixes often change the first vowel (whether initial or preceded by a consonant/consonant cluster) of that verb. These phonological changes took place in Latin and usually do not apply to words created (as in New Latin) from Latin components since Latin became a 'dead' language. Note: the combination of prefix and following vowel did not always yield the same change. (see examples below at con- + -a-) Also, these changes in vowels are not necessarily particular to being prefixed with dis- (i.e. other prefixes sometimes cause the same vowel change- see con-, ex-).

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with dis-

Translations

NOTE: Words using the prefix dis- do not necessarily use the prefixes given here when translated. See individual words for more accurate translations.

reversal or removal

• Armenian: ապ- (ap-)
• Catalan: des- (ca)
• French: dé- (fr)
• Galician: des- (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: ent- (de)
• Greek: απο- (el) (apo-)
• Hungarian: el- (hu), le- (hu), ki- (hu)
• Ido: des-
• Indonesian: dis-
• Malay: nyah- (ms)
• Middle English: dis-, de-
• Polish: de- (pl), dez-, roz- (pl), od- (pl)
• Portuguese: des- (pt), dis- (pt)
• Russian: без(ъ)- (ru) (bez(ʺ)-), бес(ъ)- (ru) (bes(ʺ)-), не- (ru) (ne-), дис- (ru) (dis-), де- (ru) (de-)
• Scottish Gaelic: di-, eas-
• Spanish: des- (es), dis- (es)

apart

• Dutch: ont- (nl)
• French: dé- (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: ent- (de)
• Greek: απο- (el) (apo-)
• Hungarian: szét- (hu)
• Ido: dis-
• Indonesian: dis-
• Russian: от(ъ)- (ru) (ot(ʺ)-), с(ъ)- (ru) (s(ʺ)-)

See also

• anti-
• contra-
• counter-
• mal-
• mis-
• ob-
• para-

 

See also

• dys-

References

• “dis-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “dis-”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• DSI, I.D.s, IDS, IDs, ISD, SDI, SID, Sid, ids, sid, sid'

Catalan

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-).

Prefix

dis-

1. dys- (bad)

   disfàsia ― dysphasia

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited des-.

Prefix

dis-

1. indicates negation

   ‎dis- + ‎sort (“luck”) → ‎dissort (“misfortune”)

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with dis-

Further reading

• “dis-” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “dis-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “dis-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin dis-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪs/

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

dis-

1. dis-

Dutch terms prefixed with dis-

Esperanto

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /dis/

Prefix

dis-

1. shows separation, dissemination, e.g. semi (“sow”) > dissemi (“disseminate”) ; ŝiri (“tear”) > disŝiri (“tear to pieces”).

Derived terms

Esperanto terms prefixed with dis-

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited dé-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis/

Prefix

dis-

1. dis-

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with dis-

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís. See also s-.

Prefix

dis-

1. dis-

   ‎dis- + ‎sglonfâ (“to inflate”) → ‎disglonfâ (“to deflate”)

   ‎dis- + ‎florî (“to bloom”) → ‎disflorî (“to wither”)

2. as intensifier

   ‎dis- + ‎sfidâ (“to challenge”) → ‎disfidâ (“to compete”)

   ‎dis- + ‎scuvierzi (“to discover, to uncover”) → ‎discuvierzi (“to find out, to unveil”)

Derived terms

Friulian terms prefixed with dis-

Gothic

Romanization

dis-

1. Romanization of 𐌳𐌹𐍃-

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from Esperanto dis-, from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís.

Prefix

dis-

1. shows separation or dissemination

Derived terms

Ido terms prefixed with dis-

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch dis-, from Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɪs]
• Hyphenation: dis

Prefix

dis-

1. dis- (“reversal, removal; apart”)

Derived terms

Indonesian terms prefixed with dis-

Further reading

• “dis-” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Irish

Prefix

dis-

1. Alternative form of dios-

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
dis-	dhis-	ndis-
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Italian

Etymology

From Latin dis-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís. See also s-.

Prefix

dis-

1. dis-

   ‎dis- + ‎fare (“do”) → ‎disfare (“undo”)

   ‎dis- + ‎organizzare (“organize”) → ‎disorganizzare (“disorganize”)

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with dis-

See also

• s-
• in-

Latin

Alternative forms

• dī-
• dif-

Etymology

Seemingly a mix of Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”), Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two”) (doublet of bi-) and Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice, in two”) (doublet of bis), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). De Vaan proposes that either Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”) was reformed to Proto-Italic *dis- by analogy with Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two”), or that *dwis- was changed to *dis- by dissimilation before roots starting with *w. Cognate with Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-), Ancient Greek διά (diá), Ancient Greek δίς (dís), Sanskrit द्विस् (dvis).

Prefix

dis-

1. asunder, apart, in two

   dīmittō ― dismiss, disband

   discēdō ― part, separate

2. reversal, removal

   dissimulō ― disguise, conceal

3. utterly, exceedingly

   differtus ― stuffed full

Usage notes

• Before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, sc, sp, st and v, the prefix becomes dī-.
• Before f, the prefix becomes dif-.
• Before a consonantal i, the prefix may become dī- or remain as dis-.
• Before a vowel or h, the prefix becomes dir- in the two verbs diribeō and dirimō, which arose early enough to be subject to rhotacism, but from Classical Latin onwards, dis- is used (see, for example, dishiascō in Cato).

Derived terms

Latin terms prefixed with dis-

Related terms

• bis
• duo

Descendants

• Catalan: des-; → dis-
• → English: dis-
  • ⇒ English: disrespect, disparage
    • ⇒ English: diss
      • → Chinese: diss
      • → Dutch: diss, dissen
      • → German: dissen
      • → Polish: diss
      • → Swedish: diss
• → Esperanto: dis-
• Franco-Provençal: dè-
• French: dé-, dés-; → dis-
• Friulian: dis-
• → Gothic: 𐌳𐌹𐍃- (dis-)
• Italian: dis-, s-
• Norman: des-
• Occitan: des-
• Portuguese: des-; → dis-
• Romanian: des-, dez-
• Sicilian: sdi-, s-
• Spanish: des-; → dis-

Further reading

• “dis-”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Middle English

Alternative forms

• des-, dys-

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French des- and its source Latin dis-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis-/, /dɛs-/

Prefix

dis-

1. Forms words denoting reversal or removal; dis-, de-.

   Synonym: de-

2. Intensifies words with a negative connotation; dis-, de-.

   Synonym: de-

Usage notes

• Sometimes used interchangeably with de-; see that entry for more.

Derived terms

Middle English terms prefixed with dis-

Descendants

• English: dis- (obsolete des-)

References

• “des-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “dis-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒis/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒis/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒiʃ/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited des-.

Prefix

dis-

1. dis- (indicates separation)

Derived terms

Portuguese terms prefixed with dis-

Etymology 2

Borrowed from New Latin dys-, from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-, “bad, hard”).

Alternative forms

• dys- (obsolete)

Prefix

dis-

1. (medicine) dys- (forms the names of conditions characterised by difficult or inadequate function)
2. dys- (bad or wrong)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dis-. Compare the inherited des-.

Prefix

dis-

1. dis-

Derived terms

Spanish terms prefixed with dis-

Further reading

• “dis-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪs/

Prefix

dis-

1. intensifying prefix

   ‎dis- + ‎taw (“quiet, silent”) → ‎distaw (“silent, noiseless”)

   ‎dis- + ‎pwyll (“consideration”) → ‎disbwyll (“discretion, prudence”)

2. negative prefix

   Synonyms: af-, an-, di-

   ‎dis- + ‎cloff (“lame”) → ‎disgloff (“sure footed, agile”)

Derived terms

Welsh terms prefixed with dis-

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
dis-	ddis-	nis-	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.