discomfit

English

Etymology

From Old French desconfit, past participle of desconfire (“to undo, to destroy”), from des- (“completely”), from Latin dis- + confire (“to make”), from Latin conficio (“to finish up, to destroy”), from com- (“with, together”) + facio (“to do, to make”).

Later sense of “to embarrass, to disconcert” due to confusion with unrelated discomfort.

Verb

discomfit (third-person singular simple present discomfits, present participle discomfiting, simple past and past participle discomfited)

1. (archaic) To defeat completely; to rout.
   • 1611, Bible: King James Version, Exodus 17:13,

     And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

2. To defeat the plans or hopes of; to frustrate.
   • 1886, Andrew Lang The Mark Of Cain, chapter 10,

     In these disguises, Maitland argued, he would certainly avoid recognition, and so discomfit any mischief planned by the enemies of Margaret.

3. (proscribed) To embarrass greatly; to confuse; to perplex; to disconcert.
   • 1853, Charlotte Brontë, Villette, chapter 20,

     She is a pretty, silly girl: but are you apprehensive that her titter will discomfit the old lady?

Usage notes

While widely used to mean “to embarrass, to disconcert”, prescriptive usage considers this a mistake (confusion with discomfort), and restrict discomfit to meaning “to defeat”.

Synonyms

• (defeat; rout): overthrow, vanquish
• (frustrate): foil, thwart
• (embarrass; confuse): abash, disconcert
• See also Wikisaurus:abash

Translations

to embarrass greatly

• Bulgarian: обърквам (bg) (obǎrkvam), смущавам (bg) (smuštavam)

• French: déconfire (fr)

See also

• discomfort