discomfit

The story

1. Latin · derived fromcōnficiō“to finish up, to destroy”
2. Old French · derived fromconfire“to make”
3. Latin · derived fromdis-
4. Old French · derived fromdesconfit
5. Middle English · inherited fromdiscomfiten
6. English todaydiscomfit

From Middle English discomfiten, from Old French desconfit, past participle of desconfire (“to undo, to destroy”), from des- (“completely”), from Latin dis- + Old French confire (“to make”), from Latin cōnficiō (“to finish up, to destroy”), from com- (“with, together”) + faciō (“to do, to make”). Later sense of “to embarrass, to disconcert” due to confusion with unrelated discomfort.

Words from the same roots