dismal

views updated May 17 2018

dis·mal / ˈdizməl/ • adj. depressing; dreary: the dismal weather made the late afternoon seem like evening. ∎  (of a person or a mood) gloomy: his dismal mood was not dispelled by finding the house empty. ∎ inf. pitifully or disgracefully bad: he shuddered as he watched his team's dismal performance.DERIVATIVES: dis·mal·ly adv.dis·mal·ness n.ORIGIN: late Middle English: from earlier dismal (noun), denoting the two days in each month that in medieval times were believed to be unlucky, from Anglo-Norman French dis mal, from medieval Latin dies mali ‘evil days.’

dismal

views updated May 14 2018

dismal †sb. evil days, orig the unpropitious days, two in each month, of the medieval calendar XIII; adj. †(of days) unlucky XIV; †(of other things) disastrous; causing dismay or gloom; depressingly dreary XVI. — AN. dis mal :- medL. diēs malī evil days. The (orig. superfluous) addition of day to dismal led to the apprehension of dismal as an adj.

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