Origin: 1605–15; < Latin dissertātiōn- (stem of dissertātiō), equivalent to dissertāt(us) (past participle of dissertāre; dissert- (see dissert) + -ātus-ate1) + -iōn--ion
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
1611, from L. dissertationem (nom. dissertatio) "discourse," from dissertare "debate, argue," frequentative of disserere "discuss, examine," from dis- "apart" + serere "to arrange words" (see series). Sense of "formal, written treatise" is 1651.