English
derision
Derision comes from Latin derideō ‘to laugh at, mock, make fun of, deride’, and goes back to rīdeō.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErīdeō1‘laugh’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEderideō2as dērīdēre‘to laugh at, mock, make fun of, deride’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdērīsiōnem2
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400derision2
- Englishearliest quotation 1847derision2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin derideo
- 2 Wiktionary, English derision
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray: “Miss Briggs was not formally dismissed, but her place…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErīdeōWiktionary, Latin derideo‘laugh’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEderideōWiktionary, English derisionas dērīdēre‘to laugh at, mock, make fun of, deride’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdērīsiōnemWiktionary, English derision
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400derisionWiktionary, English derision
- Englishearliest quotation 1847derisionWiktionary, English derision. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray: “Miss Briggs was not formally dismissed, but her place…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’
word, worth, university, weird, universe, divorce, version, conversation, versus, diverse, diversity, vertical, verse, advertisement, versatile, vortex, convertible, advert, divert, revert, pervert, adversity, vertex, vertigo, avert, vertebrate, subvert, diversification, introvert, vert, verso, wurst, perversity, 70 more
through Latin rīdeō ‘laugh’
through Latin derideō ‘to laugh at, mock, make fun of, deride’
Today it means
noun Act of treating with disdain.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “derision”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin derideo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Latin rīdeō / derision