Dispose
/dɪˈspoʊz/noun
To get rid of something or arrange it in a particular way.
Did you know?Dispose comes from Latin disponere, and its deeper root ponere means “to place,” the same ancient root behind words like post, position, and compose—so even “getting rid of” something began as a ritual of placement.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*deh₃-
“to put, place”
Latin
Latin
ponere
“to place, set down”
Latin
Latin
disponere
“to arrange, distribute, set apart”
Old French
Old French
disposer
“to arrange, order, prepare”
Middle English
English
disposen
“to arrange or prepare; to assign”
Modern English
English
dispose
“to get rid of; to arrange or put in order”