The older sense of disappoint was briskly literal: in the 15th century, to disappoint someone could mean to remove them from an appointed office. A ruler could be disappointed, meaning stripped of rule, before the verb developed its familiar sense of frustrating hopes or failing expectations. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of ““Disappoint” Shifted from Losing Office to Failing Expectations”
I had a light bulb moment this week when I was reading about the word disappoint.
Because it turns out that in the 15th century, the first use of disappoint referred to removing a person from appointed office, literally to disappoint them. Or you could disappoint a ruler, for example, which meant that they no longer ruled. And it was only later that disappoint came to mean, you know, to frustrate or disappoint.
Right. Take somebody out of office to remove them from their appointment to that office.
Very good.
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