Английский Этимологический словарь - dis

- prefix meaning 1. "opposite of, lack of, not" (dishonest); 2. "do the opposite of" (disallow); 3. "apart, away" (discard), from O.Fr. des-, from L. dis- "apart." Related to bis and to duo, on notion of "two-ways, in twain." Dis has even stepped out on its own as a word (1980), as a shortening of disrespect or dismiss, originally in U.S. Black English, popularized by hip hop. Many words beginning with this in Mod.Eng. are transparent (disconnect, etc.) and etymologies can be found in listings for their stems. Words listed here are those whose unprefixed form is not an obvious word in Eng. (discreet) or whose meaning has drifted significantly (disease).