Etymograph

English

disease

Disease comes from Middle English disese, from Anglo-Norman desese, from Old French desaise, from des- + aise ‘ease’.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aise1‘ease’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desaise1
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400desese1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500disese1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1526disease1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English disease
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Whyll he yett ſpeake there cam won from the…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400aiseWiktionary, English disease‘ease’
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400desaiseWiktionary, English disease
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400deseseWiktionary, English disease
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500diseseWiktionary, English disease
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1526diseaseWiktionary, English disease. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Whyll he yett ſpeake there cam won from the…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with disease, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yeh₁- ‘to throw’

  • year ← yeer ← ġēar ← *jār ← *jērą
  • hour ← houre ← houre ← hōra ← ὥρᾱ
  • trajectory ← trāiectōria ← trāiectus
  • catheter ← καθετήρ ← καθίημι ← ἵημι ← *yīyēmi
  • abject ← abiect
  • enema ← ἔνεμα ← ἐνίημι ← ἵημι ← *yīyēmi
  • jut ← jutten
  • iambic ← iambique ← ïambicus ← ἰαμβικός ← ἴαμβος
  • jetsam ← jetteson ← getteson

through Proto-Indo-European *(H)yéh₁kt ~ *(H)ih₁ként

  • objective ← obgectyf ← objectif ← obiectīvus ← obiciō
  • projection ← prōiectiō ← prōiciō ← iaciō
  • objection ← objeccion ← obiectio ← obiciō ← iaciō

120 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun An abnormal condition of a human, animal or plant that causes discomfort or dysfunction; distinct from injury insofar as the latter is usually instantaneously acquired.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “disease”. 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 / Old French aise / disease