English
discountenance
Discountenance comes from Middle French descontenancer, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-1‘to stretch, extend’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600descontenancer1
- Englishearliest quotation 1671discountenance1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English discountenance
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The Second Book: “How would one look from his Majeſtick brow, /…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ten-Wiktionary, English discountenance‘to stretch, extend’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600descontenancerWiktionary, English discountenance
- Englishearliest quotation 1671discountenanceWiktionary, English discountenance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1671, John Milton, The Second Book: “How would one look from his Majeſtick brow, /…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ten- ‘to stretch, extend’
continue, tight, tone, content, obtain, ton, entertainment, contain, retain, tune, tennis, sustain, continuous, tender, maintenance, continent, detention, retention, tonic, rein, detain, pristine, continuum, pertinent, tenor, tenant, abstain, tendon, pertain, abstinence, tenacity, tenet, retinue, tetanus, tenacious, tenement, incontinence, tantra, sustenance, maintainer, 72 more
Today it means
verb To have an unfavorable opinion of; to deprecate or disapprove of.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “discountenance”. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *ten- / discountenance