English word despair comes from Old French des- (De-; dis-.), Old French esperer (To hope.)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| des- | Old French (fro) | De-; dis-. |
| esperer | Old French (fro) | To hope. |
| desesperer | Old French (fro) | |
| despeir | Anglo-Norman (xno) | |
| despair | English (en) | Loss of hope; utter hopelessness; complete despondency.. That which causes despair.. That which is despaired of. (Can we add an example for this sense?) (intransitive, often with “of”) To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation.. (transitive, obsolete) To cause to despair.. (transitive, obsolete) To give up as beyond hope or expectation; to despair of. |