Etymology

disinterested

dis·in·ter·est·ed
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Today it means: Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial. Full definition →

First used 17th c.
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disinterested · adjective1

From disinterest (“to cause to be impartial”, verb) + -ed (suffix forming past tense or past participle forms of verbs), or from dis- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + interested (“having a stake in; showing interest”, adjective).

disinterested · verb2

From disinterest + -ed.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. Having no interest or stake in the outcome, and no conflicts of interest; free of bias, impartial.
  • from 17th c. Synonym of uninterested (“not interested; not concerned; indifferent”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.