English
dishevelled
Dishevelled comes from Old French chevel ‘hair’, from Latin caput ‘head’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káput2‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaput2‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaput3‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapillus4as capillus‘a single hair’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400chevel5‘hair’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400deschevelé5
- Englishearliest quotation 1913dishevelled5
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin caput
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin capillus
- 4 Wiktionary, Old French chevel
- 5 Wiktionary, English dishevelled
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Robert Barr: “The men resided in a huge bunk house, which…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *káput‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*káputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kaputWiktionary, Latin caput‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcaputWiktionary, Latin capillus‘head’uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapillusWiktionary, Old French chevelas capillus‘a single hair’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400chevelWiktionary, English dishevelled‘hair’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400descheveléWiktionary, English dishevelled
- Englishearliest quotation 1913dishevelledWiktionary, English dishevelled. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1913, Robert Barr: “The men resided in a huge bunk house, which…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kap- ‘head’
had, case, except, catch, accept, heavy, cash, capacity, receive, behavior, capable, chase, capture, heavily, cable, achieve, recipe, reception, occupation, perception, haven, recipient, behave, hawk, anticipation, anticipate, caption, deception, captivity, captive, cater, capsule, susceptible, cassette, chassis, casket, conceive, deceit, deceive, deceptive, 133 more
through Proto-Indo-European *káput ‘head’
through Proto-Italic *kaput ‘head’
capitalism, capitalize, capitan, capote, escapade, capitaine, 60 more
through Latin caput ‘head’
capital, captain, chapter, escape, cape, cabin, chef, capitol, cattle, chapel, capita, precipitation, chaplain, cad, mischief, mischievous, chieftain, precipitate, capo, cabana, occipital, capa, precipitous, capitulate, caddie, capuchin, chattel, scamper, scamp, chabot, jefe, kaput, caput, chaperon, cabochon, 68 more
through Latin capillus ‘a single hair’
Today it means
adj Of a person, with the hair uncombed.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “dishevelled”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *káput, Latin caput, Latin capillus, Old French chevel. 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 *kap- / dishevelled