Question

disparage verb In Middle English, to "disparage" someone meant causing that person to marry someone of inferior rank. Disparage derives from the Anglo-French word desparager, meaning "to marry below one's class." Desparager, in turn, combines the negative prefix des- with parage (meaning "equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from per, meaning "peer." The original "marriage" sense of disparage is now obsolete, but a closely-related sense (meaning "to lower in rank or reputation") survives in modern English. By the 16th century, English speakers (including William Shakespeare) were also using disparage to mean simply "to belittle." 1 : to depreciate by indirect means (such as invidious comparison) : to speak slightingly about2 : to lower in rank or reputation : degrade

Accepted Answer

May 25, 2019 dih-SPAIR-ij "In the early 1990s the president of newly independent Estonia gave a speech in Hamburg. In it, he disparaged the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. A little-known Russian official was so outraged that he stormed out. It was Vladimir Putin." — The Economist, 2 Feb. 2019"Despite his own military background, Jackson did not unnecessarily glorify war or disparage peace. In his farewell address, he wrote, 'It is unquestionably our true interest to cultivate the most friendly understanding with every nation and to avoid by every honorable means the calamities of war.'" — Jeff Taylor, The American Conservative, 1 Jan. 2019

Word	disparage
Date	May 25, 2019
Type	verb
Syllables	dih-SPAIR-ij
Etymology	In Middle English, to "disparage" someone meant causing that person to marry someone of inferior rank. Disparage derives from the Anglo-French word desparager, meaning "to marry below one's class." Desparager, in turn, combines the negative prefix des- with parage (meaning "equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from per, meaning "peer." The original "marriage" sense of disparage is now obsolete, but a closely-related sense (meaning "to lower in rank or reputation") survives in modern English. By the 16th century, English speakers (including William Shakespeare) were also using disparage to mean simply "to belittle."
Examples	"In the early 1990s the president of newly independent Estonia gave a speech in Hamburg. In it, he disparaged the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. A little-known Russian official was so outraged that he stormed out. It was Vladimir Putin." — The Economist, 2 Feb. 2019 "Despite his own military background, Jackson did not unnecessarily glorify war or disparage peace. In his farewell address, he wrote, 'It is unquestionably our true interest to cultivate the most friendly understanding with every nation and to avoid by every honorable means the calamities of war.'" — Jeff Taylor, The American Conservative, 1 Jan. 2019
Definition	1 : to depreciate by indirect means (such as invidious comparison) : to speak slightingly about 2 : to lower in rank or reputation : degrade

Disparage Marry Desparager Meaning Sense Lower Rank Means