Etymology

disband

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Today it means: To break up or (cause to) cease to exist; to disperse. Full definition →

Middle French desbander ← Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰendʰ-“to tie”
  2. Middle French · borrowed fromdesbander
  3. English todaydisband

Attested since the 1590s, from Middle French desbander (Modern French débander), from des- (English dis-) + bande (English band), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰendʰ- (“to tie”). By surface analysis, dis- + band.

Words from the same roots

Proto-Indo-European*bʰendʰ- all →

bandbondbendbonnetbandanaantipathyboosesprachbund

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.