dis-

Origin

dis-

1
a Latin prefix meaning “apart,” “asunder,” “away,” “utterly,” or having a privative, negative, or reversing force (see de-, un-2); used freely, especially with these latter senses, as an English formative: disability; disaffirm; disbar; disbelief; discontent; dishearten; dislike; disown.
Also, di-.


Origin:
< Latin (akin to bis, Greek dís twice); before f, dif-; before some consonants, di-; often replacing obsolete des- < Old French

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Dis- is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

dis-

2
variant of di-1 before s: dissyllable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
dis-1
 
prefix
1.  indicating reversal: disconnect; disembark
2.  indicating negation, lack, or deprivation: dissimilar; distrust; disgrace
3.  indicating removal or release: disembowel; disburden
4.  expressing intensive force: dissever
 
[from Latin dis- apart; in some cases, via Old French des-. In compound words of Latin origin, dis- becomes dif- before f and di- before some consonants]

dis-2
 
combining form
variant of di- : dissyllable

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

dis-
(assimilated as dif- before -f-), prefix meaning 1. "lack of, not" (e.g. dishonest); 2. "do the opposite of" (e.g. disallow); 3. "apart, away" (e.g. discard), from O.Fr. des-, from L. dis- "apart," from PIE
EXPAND
*dis- "apart, asunder" (cf. O.E. te-, O.S. ti-, O.H.G. ze-, Ger. zer-). The PIE root is a secondary form of *dwis- and is thus related to L. bis "twice" (originally *dvis) and to duo, on notion of "two-ways, in twain." In classical Latin, dis- paralelled de- and had much the same meaning, but in L.L. dis- came to be the favored form and this passed into O.Fr. as des-, the form used for new compound words formed in O.Fr., where it increasingly had a privative sense ("not"). In English, many of these words eventually were altered back to dis-, while in French many have been altered back to de-. The usual confusion prevails.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

dis- pref.

  1. Not: disjugate.

  2. Absence of; opposite of: disorientation.

  3. Undo; do the opposite of: dislocate.

  4. Deprive of; remove: dismember.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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