Etymograph

English

dismiss

Dismiss comes from Latin dimissus ‘sent away, dismissed, banished’, from mittō ‘to send’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘change’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-1‘change’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-1‘exchange, remove’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmītō1by way of Proto-Italic *meitōuncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittō2as mittere‘to send’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīmittō2‘send away, dismiss’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdimissus2‘sent away, dismissed, banished’perfect passive participle of dīmittō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1907dismiss2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin mitto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dismiss
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Robert William Chambers, New York: ““He was here,” observed Drina composedly, “and father was…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*mey-Wiktionary, Latin mitto‘change’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meyth₂-Wiktionary, Latin mitto‘exchange, remove’uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmītōWiktionary, Latin mittoby way of Proto-Italic *meitōuncertain
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmittōWiktionary, English dismissas mittere‘to send’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdīmittōWiktionary, English dismiss‘send away, dismiss’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdimissusWiktionary, English dismiss‘sent away, dismissed, banished’perfect passive participle of dīmittō
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1907dismissWiktionary, English dismiss. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1907, Robert William Chambers, New York: ““He was here,” observed Drina composedly, “and father was…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *mey- ‘change’

mean, community, common, met, minute, communication, minister, meal, minor, menu, mutual, ministry, communicate, immune, communist, mere, ammunition, immunity, compromise, minus, municipality, communal, mole, communion, mural, ammo, mayhem, communism, noodle, moor, commune, remuneration, 77 more

through Proto-Indo-European *meyth₂- ‘exchange, remove’

message, mad, mute, mutant, madden, 24 more

through Latin mittō ‘to send’

committee, commission, admit, mess, mission, commit, missile, premise, transmit, intermittent, emit, 40 more

Today it means

verb To discharge; to end the employment or service of.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dismiss”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin mitto. 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 *mey- / dismiss

Shirt and support for this word