despect

Not valid in Scrabble

It's a recognised English word, but it isn't in the official NASPA Scrabble word list.

Scrabble points
12
Words With Friends
14
Letters
7
Pronunciation
/dɪˈspɛkt/

Definition of despect

2 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (archaic, uncountable)Contempt, derision.
    “In 488 A.D. the then very young, energetic, clever and deceitful king Kavadh succeeded to the throne. The rule was actually in the hands of the most powerful nobleman, Sokhra of the Karen family, who had won fame in the war against the Huns. Sokhra treated the young king with despect as a boy. The king's anger over Sokhra's treatment of him was exploited by another nobleman, Shapur of the Mihran family, who helped Kavadh to remove the regent.”
    “The majority of the most famous botanists of the 17th century raised their eyebrows in despect of this hypothesis of sex in plants as a new chimera and a ridiculous mental abortion of some persons who wanted to impress and delude the learned world.”
    “Interpretative potential of the Middle Paleolithic, a type of industry too widely distributed over large surfaces of the North African desert landscapes, is usually considered with despect in the archaeological literature.”
See all 2 definitions

noun

  1. (archaic, uncountable)Contempt, derision.
    “In 488 A.D. the then very young, energetic, clever and deceitful king Kavadh succeeded to the throne. The rule was actually in the hands of the most powerful nobleman, Sokhra of the Karen family, who had won fame in the war against the Huns. Sokhra treated the young king with despect as a boy. The king's anger over Sokhra's treatment of him was exploited by another nobleman, Shapur of the Mihran family, who helped Kavadh to remove the regent.”
    “The majority of the most famous botanists of the 17th century raised their eyebrows in despect of this hypothesis of sex in plants as a new chimera and a ridiculous mental abortion of some persons who wanted to impress and delude the learned world.”
    “Interpretative potential of the Middle Paleolithic, a type of industry too widely distributed over large surfaces of the North African desert landscapes, is usually considered with despect in the archaeological literature.”

verb

  1. (archaic)To hold in contempt, to despise, to look down on, to scorn.
    “[Act II, scene ii, page 72] Nay, but with patience, Sir, we that are Officers / Muſt 'quire the ſpeciall markes, and all the tokens / Of the deſpected parties, or perhaps – elſe, / Be nere the nere of our purpoſe in 'prehending 'hem. [Act III, scene i, page 79] Faith Goſſip Turfe, you have, you ſay, Remiſſion / To comprehend all ſuch, as are diſpected: / Now, would I make another privie ſearch / Through this Towne, and then you have zearch'd two towns.”
    “[…] wears, like our little friend of Karta-pu, an eared baby-bunting bonnet, sewn and embroidered to represent the mask of a tiger if looked down on from above; so that the jealous gods, despecting, see a beast and not a baby, and pass it by accordingly.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Middle English despect (“contempt, spite”), from Latin dēspectus (“a looking down upon, contempt”), from dēspicere (“to look down upon, despise, scorn”), from dē (“down”) + specere (“to look at, behold”), equivalent to de- + -spect.

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