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de·ri·sion

(dĭ-rĭzhən)

1. The act of ridiculing or laughing at someone or something.

2. A state of being derided: Members of the board held the proposal in derision.

[Middle English derisioun, from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin dērīsiō, dērīsiōn-, from Latin dērīsus, past participle of dērīdēre, to deride; see DERIDE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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