entry
disparate
/ˈdɪspərət/Essentially different; not comparable
From Latin prefix dis- (apart) + Latin parāre (to prepare).
from Latin disparatus , past participle of disparare "divide, separate,"
+1 more sourcefrom Latin disparatus , past participle of disparare "divide, separate,"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle French desparat or directly
Word Ancestry
from Latin disparatus , past participle of disparare "divide, separate,"
+1 more sourcefrom Latin disparatus , past participle of disparare "divide, separate,"
+1 more sourcefrom Middle French desparat or directly
This word is built like a little Roman machine: dis- means "apart," and parāre means "make ready." Put them together in Latin and you get disparāre, something like "to unmake the fit"—a neat way to describe things that simply refuse to belong in the same box. By 1586, English had it, and by c. 1600 it was already strutting around with its modern sense of things so unlike that comparison itself feels silly. The fun part is that parāre lives on all over the place in cousins like prepare, repair, and apparatus, all busy with the idea of getting things in order. So disparate is basically what happens when the language of tidying up gets ambushed by the prefix for taking things apart.
The Story
This word is built like a little Roman machine: dis- means "apart," and parāre means "make ready." Put them together in Latin and you get disparāre, something like "to unmake the fit"—a neat way to describe things that simply refuse to belong in the same box. By 1586, English had it, and by c. 1600 it was already strutting around with its modern sense of things so unlike that comparison itself feels silly. The fun part is that parāre lives on all over the place in cousins like prepare, repair, and apparatus, all busy with the idea of getting things in order. So disparate is basically what happens when the language of tidying up gets ambushed by the prefix for taking things apart.
Kin & Kindred
From 'dis-'·apart; away; asunder
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'parāre'·to prepare; arrange; make ready
Derived Terms
English words from this root