Disparage - plus, name that synonym

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [May 25, 2019](#none) disparage [Audio pronunciation]( verb | dih-SPAIR-ij Definition 1 : to [depreciate]( by indirect means (such as invidious comparison) : to speak slightingly about 2 : to lower in rank or reputation : [degrade]( Scroll down for more about disparage TRENDING NOW: [folderol]( [reticent]( [codify]( [contempt]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # [The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 5/24/19]( # [Summer Reading Picks from M-W Staffers]( # [The Wayward Cousins of 'Irregardless']( # [We've Got Baggage]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!]( No tricks, just difficult words. [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? In Middle English, to "disparage" someone meant causing that person to marry someone of inferior rank. Disparage derives from the Anglo-French word desparager, meaning "to marry below one's class." Desparager, in turn, combines the negative prefix des- with parage (meaning "equality" or "lineage"), which itself comes from per, meaning "peer." The original "marriage" sense of disparage is now obsolete, but a closely-related sense (meaning "to lower in rank or reputation") survives in modern English. By the 16th century, English speakers (including William Shakespeare) were also using disparage to mean simply "to [belittle](." Examples of DISPARAGE "In the early 1990s the president of newly independent Estonia gave a speech in Hamburg. In it, he disparaged the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. A little-known Russian official was so outraged that he stormed out. It was Vladimir Putin." — The Economist, 2 Feb. 2019 "Despite his own military background, Jackson did not unnecessarily glorify war or disparage peace. In his farewell address, he wrote, 'It is unquestionably our true interest to cultivate the most friendly understanding with every nation and to avoid by every honorable means the calamities of war.'" — Jeff Taylor, The American Conservative, 1 Jan. 2019 Name That Synonym Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of disparage: v _ l _ p _ n _. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORDS AT PLAY Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet) Once you learn these rare words, we challenge you to use them in conversation [SEE THE FULL LIST [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](