disparate

See also: dispárate

English

WOTD – 2 July 2006

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French desparat, from Latin disparātus, past participle of disparō (“to divide”), from dis- (“apart”) + parō (“to make equal”), from par (“equal”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪsp(ə)ɹət/, /ˈdɪsp(ə)ɹɪt/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈdɪsp(ə)ɹət/, /dɪˈspæɹət/, /dɪˈspɛɹət/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

disparate (comparative more disparate, superlative most disparate)

1. Composed of inherently different or distinct elements; incongruous.

   The board of the company was decidedly disparate, with no two members from the same social or economic background.

   • 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 269:

     The London Transport Museum was established, from disparate collections, at Covent Garden in 1980.

2. Essentially different; of different species, unlike but not opposed in pairs
3. Utterly unlike; incapable of being compared; having no common ground.
   • 1898, John Wesley Powell, Truth and Error:

     Then disparate sense impressions come to disparate organs, as light to the eye, taste to the mouth, etc.

   • 1912, Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Bergson:

     M. Bergson’s philosophy, unlike most of the systems of the past, is dualistic: the world, for him, is divided into two disparate portions, on the one hand life, on the other matter, or rather that inert something which the intellect views as matter.

Synonyms

• (composed of distinct elements): incongruous, mismatched, uncoordinated
• (markedly different): different, dissimilar, unalike
• (incapable of being compared): incommensurable

Related terms

• dispair
• disparately
• disparateness
• disparity

Translations

composed of inherently different elements

• Bulgarian: несравним (bg) (nesravnim), несъизмерим (bg) (nesǎizmerim)
• Czech: nesourodý
• Danish: uensartet, uhomogen
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} duidelijk verschillend , onsamenhangend (nl)
• Finnish: toisenlainen (fi), hajanainen (fi)
• French: disparate (fr)
• Georgian: განსხვავებული (gansxvavebuli)
• German: disparat (de), verschieden (de), ungleich (de), ungleichartig

• Japanese: 異質な (ja) (ishitsu na)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: uensartet

• Portuguese: disperso (pt) m
• Russian: несравнимый (ru) (nesravnimyj), несоизмеримый (ru) (nesoizmerimyj)
• Spanish: dispar (es) m or f, heterogéneo (es) m, variado (es) m
• Turkish: apayrı (tr), bambaşka (tr), kıyaslanmaz, kıyaslanamaz

Further reading

• disparate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• disparate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Noun

disparate (plural disparates)

1. (chiefly in the plural) Any of a group of unequal or dissimilar things.

Anagrams

• aspirated

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin disparātus, past participle of to divide, from dis- (“apart”) + to make equal, from par (“equal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dis.pa.ʁat/

• Audio (Switzerland)

  (file)

Adjective

disparate (plural disparates)

1. disparate; incongruous

Further reading

• “disparate” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

disparate

1. inflection of disparat:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

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Italian

Adjective

disparate

1. feminine plural of disparato

Anagrams

• derapasti, disperata

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Latin

Verb

disparāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of disparō

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Portuguese

Etymology

Back-formation from disparatar or from Spanish disparate.

Noun

disparate m (plural disparates)

1. nonsense (meaningless words or actions)

   Synonyms: asneira, dislate

   Você fala um disparate, meu amigo.

   You speak nonsense, my friend.

2. Great amount; a lot

   O povo recebia um disparate de turistas no verão.

   The town was deluged with tourists in summer.

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Spanish

FWOTD – 22 January 2019

Etymology

From disparatar.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dispaˈɾate/, [d̪is.paˈɾa.t̪e]

Noun

disparate m (plural disparates)

1. nonsense (meaningless words or actions)
   • 2010, Alberto Lema, Iris Cochón, transl., Sidecar, Caballo de Troya (Random House):

     — […] Y todo ese disparate sobre la supuesta infinitud de las personas; cuanto más sabes más quieres saber, más sabes que no sabes, etc.; es una estupidez.

     And all that hogwash about the supposed infinity of people; the more you know the more you want to know, the more you know that you don't know, etc.; it's all silliness.

   Synonym: dislate

2. a great amount; a lot
3. crazy idea

Further reading

• “disparate” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.