disparate
See also: dispárate
English
WOTD – 2 July 2006
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French desparat, from Latin disparātus, past participle of disparō (“to divide”), from dis- (“apart”) + parō (“to make equal”), from par (“equal”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
disparate (comparative more disparate, superlative most disparate)
- Composed of inherently different or distinct elements; incongruous.
- The board of the company was decidedly disparate, with no two members from the same social or economic background.
- Essentially different; of different species, unlike but not opposed in pairs; also, less properly, utterly unlike; incapable of being compared; having no common genus.
- 1898, John Wesley Powell, Truth and Error:
- Then disparate sense impressions come to disparate organs, as light to the eye, taste to the mouth, etc.
- 1912, Bertrand Russel, The Philosophy of Bergson:
- M. Bergson’s philosophy, unlike most of the systems of the past, is dualistic: the world, for him, is divided into two disparate portions, on the one hand life, on the other matter, or rather that inert something which the intellect views as matter.
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Synonyms
- (composed of distinct elements): incongruous, mismatched, uncoordinated
- (markedly different): different, dissimilar, unalike
- (incapable of being compared): incommensurable
Related terms
Translations
composed of inherently different elements
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References
- Longman Exams Dictionary
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Further reading
- disparate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- disparate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
Noun
disparate (plural disparates)
- (chiefly in the plural) Any of a group of unequal or dissimilar things.
French
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin disparātus, past participle of to divide, from dis- (“apart”) + to make equal, from par (“equal”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dispaʁat/
Further reading
- “disparate” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
German
Adjective
disparate
- inflection of disparat:
- strong and mixed nominative and accusative feminine singular
- strong nominative and accusative plural
- weak nominative all-gender singular
- weak accusative feminine and neuter singular
Latin
Portuguese
Etymology
Back-formation from disparatar or from Spanish disparate.
Spanish
FWOTD – 22 January 2019
Etymology
From disparatar.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dispaˈɾate/, [d̪ispaˈɾat̪e]
Noun
disparate m (plural disparates)
- nonsense (meaningless words or actions)
- 2010, Alberto Lema, "Sidecar", tr. by Iris Cochón, publ. by Caballo de Troya (Random House).
- — […] Y todo ese disparate sobre la supuesta infinitud de las personas; cuanto más sabes más quieres saber, más sabes que no sabes, etc.; es una estupidez.
- And all that hogwash about the supposed infinity of people; the more you know the more you want to know, the more you know that you don't know, etc.; it's all silliness.
- Synonym: dislate
- 2010, Alberto Lema, "Sidecar", tr. by Iris Cochón, publ. by Caballo de Troya (Random House).
- a great amount; a lot
- crazy idea
Further reading
- “disparate” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
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