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Today it means

dispel

to make a feeling, belief, or doubt disappear

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Where does the word "dispel" come from? It comes from Latin dispellere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "dispel" come from? It comes from Latin dispellere, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Dispel’s story begins in Latin: dispellere meant “to drive apart, to scatter.” To drive apart, to scatter, from dis- (apart) and pellere (to drive). It reached English by 1400s as dispel. Settled as the English word for driving away doubts or fears. Today, dispel means to make a feeling, belief, or doubt disappear.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient dispellere "to drive apart, to scatter", to drive apart, to scatter, from dis- (apart) and pellere (to drive).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s dispel "to drive away or eliminate a feeling or belief", settled as the English word for driving away doubts or fears.

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