discomfit

discomfit
\ \ [14] The underlying etymological sense of discomfit is ‘destroy’. It comes from desconfit, the past participle of Old French desconfiredefeat’; this in turn was a descendant of Vulgar Latin *disconficeredestroy, undo’, a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘un-’ and conficereput together, complete, accomplish’ (source of English comfit, confection, and confetti). Its original English meaning ‘defeat’ has weakened over the centuries to ‘disconcert’, probably due to the influence of discomfort, with which it is often confused.
\ \ Cf.COMFIT, CONFECTION, CONFETTI

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • discomfit — discomfit, discomfort Discomfit in current English means ‘to thwart the plans of’ (its original meaning) or ‘to embarrass or disconcert’. In its weaker second meaning, in which it occurs most often in the form discomfited, it overlaps with the… …   Modern English usage

  • Discomfit — Dis*com fit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Discomfited}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Discomfiting}.] [OF. desconfit, p. p. of desconfire, F. d[ e]confire; fr. L. dis + conficere to make ready, prepare, bring about. See {Comfit}, {Fact}.] 1. To scatter in fight; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Discomfit — Dis*com fit, n. Rout; overthrow; discomfiture. [1913 Webster] Such a discomfit as shall quite despoil him. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Discomfit — Dis*com fit, a. Discomfited; overthrown. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • discomfit — index beat (defeat), discompose, disconcert, disturb, embarrass, overcome (overwhelm), overwhelm …   Law dictionary

  • discomfit — c.1200, from O.Fr. desconfit vanquished, defeated, pp. of desconfire to defeat, destroy, from des not (see DIS (Cf. dis )) + confire make, prepare, accomplish, from L. conficere (see CONFECTION (Cf. confection)). Originally an adjective in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • discomfit — disconcert, *embarrass, faze, abash, rattle Analogous words: *annoy, vex, irk, bother: perturb, *discompose, agitate, upset, disturb: check, *arrest, interrupt …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • discomfit — [v] defeat, frustrate; confuse abash, annoy, baffle, balk, beat, bother, checkmate, confound, demoralize, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, disturb, embarrass, faze, fluster, foil, irk, outwit, overcome, perplex, perturb, prevent, rattle,… …   New thesaurus

  • discomfit — ► VERB (discomfited, discomfiting) ▪ make uneasy or embarrassed. DERIVATIVES discomfiture noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «defeat in battle»: from Old French desconfire, from Latin conficere put together …   English terms dictionary

  • discomfit — [dis kum′fit] vt. [ME discomfiten < OFr desconfit, pp. of desconfire < VL * disconficere < L dis + conficere: see CONFECT] 1. Archaic to defeat; overthrow 2. to frustrate the plans or expectations of 3. to make uneasy; disconcert SYN.… …   English World dictionary

  • discomfit — UK [dɪsˈkʌmfɪt] / US verb [transitive] Word forms discomfit : present tense I/you/we/they discomfit he/she/it discomfits present participle discomfiting past tense discomfited past participle discomfited literary to make someone feel embarrassed …   English dictionary

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