Etymology

disparple

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Today it means: To scatter, disperse. Full definition →

First used 14th–17th c.Old French disparpelier ← Latin papilio
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The story

  1. Latin · derived frompapilio“butterfly”
  2. Old French · derived fromdisparpelier
  3. English todaydisparple

From Old French disparpelier, disparpillier et al., apparently from a late prefixed form of Latin papilio (“butterfly”).

Words from the same roots

Latinpapilio all →

papillonPeeblespapiliopapilionaceous

First known use, by meaning

  • 14th–17th c. To scatter, disperse.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.