Etymograph

English

dismal

Dismal comes from Old French (li) dis mals ‘(the) bad days’, and goes back to Latin diēs.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiēs1
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500diēs malī1‘bad days’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400(li) dis mals1‘(the) bad days’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400dismal1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dismal1
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1908dismal1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English dismal
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1908, Charles Lee Coon: “.[…] the proprietors of all the great unimproved tracts…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdiēsWiktionary, English dismal
  2. Medieval Latinc. 600–1500diēs malīWiktionary, English dismal‘bad days’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400(li) dis malsWiktionary, English dismal‘(the) bad days’
  4. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400dismalWiktionary, English dismal
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500dismalWiktionary, English dismal
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1908dismalWiktionary, English dismal. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1908, Charles Lee Coon: “.[…] the proprietors of all the great unimproved tracts…”

Linked words

pairs

  • dismal and journal both from Latin diēs

Every English word from Latin diēs

Today it means

adj Disastrous, calamitous.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dismal”. 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 diēs / dismal

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