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disparage

[dih-spar-ij]
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verb (used with object), dis·par·aged, dis·par·ag·ing.
  1. to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle: Do not disparage good manners.
  2. to bring reproach or discredit upon; lower the estimation of: Your behavior will disparage the whole family.
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Origin of disparage

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French desparag(i)er to match unequally, equivalent to des- dis-1 + -parag(i)er, derivative of parage equality, equivalent to par(er) to equalize (< Latin parāre; see peer1) + -age -age
Related formsdis·par·ag·er, nounun·dis·par·aged, adjective

Synonyms

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1. ridicule, discredit, mock, demean, denounce, derogate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for disparage

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Nothing is more unjust than to disparage one sex relatively to the other.

  • It would have its work done, and be free to disparage those who have laboured for it.'

    Gerald Fitzgerald

    Charles James Lever

  • It may shun, deprecate, disparage, but it never despises them.

  • I do not disparage one of her attractions, and she has scores of them.

    Lord Kilgobbin

    Charles Lever

  • She means to discredit my station, and disparage my influence; how shall I reply to her?

    A Day's Ride

    Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for disparage

disparage

verb (tr)
  1. to speak contemptuously of; belittle
  2. to damage the reputation of
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Derived Formsdisparagement, noundisparager, noundisparaging, adjectivedisparagingly, adverb

Word Origin

C14: from Old French desparagier, from des- dis- 1 + parage equality, from Latin par equal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for disparage

v.

early 14c., "degrade socially," from Old French desparagier (Modern French déparager) "reduce in rank, degrade, devalue, depreciate," originally "to marry unequally," and thus by extension the disgrace or dishonor involved in this, from des- "away" (see dis-) + parage "rank, lineage" (see peer (n.)). Sense of "belittle" first recorded 1530s. Related: Disparaged; disparaging; disparagingly.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper