dis-

Meaning

1. (morpheme) asunder, apart, in two
2. (morpheme) reversal, removal
3. (morpheme) utterly, exceedingly

Etymology

Seemingly a mix of Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”), Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two”) (doublet of bi-) and Proto-Indo-European *dwís (“twice, in two”) (doublet of bis), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). De Vaan proposes that either Proto-Indo-European *dus- (“bad”) was reformed to Proto-Italic *dis- by analogy with Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two”), or that *dwis- was changed to *dis- by dissimilation before roots starting with *w. Cognate with Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-), Ancient Greek διά (diá), Ancient Greek δίς (dís), Sanskrit द्विस् (dvis).