Dispetto
NOUN [masculine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
1. Spite, Prank, Tease
🇬🇧 An act deliberately done to annoy or harm someone.
🇮🇹 Atto compiuto espressamente per infastidire o danneggiare qualcuno.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | il - un dispetto | - |
| Plural | i - dei dispetti | - |
Example sentences 💬
Quel dispetto mi è costato caro: non mi ha parlato per una settimana.
That prank cost me dearly: she didn't speak to me for a week.
I bambini si fanno sempre i dispetti tra loro.
Children always play pranks on each other.
I dispetti tra fratelli sono normali, ma non devono mai essere cattivi.
Pranks between siblings are normal, but they should never be mean.
I dispetti della natura: piove solo quando stendi i panni!
Nature's tricks: it only rains when you hang out the laundry!
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Idioms with dispetto 🇮🇹
Fare un dispetto a qualcuno
→ To tease / To play a trick on someone
Smettila di fare i dispetti a tuo fratello!
Stop teasing your brother!
Per dispetto
→ Out of spite / to annoy [somebody] for the sake of it
L'ha fatto solo per dispetto, non aveva un vero motivo.
He did it just out of spite, he had no real reason.
A dispetto di
→ In spite of, despite
A dispetto delle previsioni meteo, il sole splendeva alto nel cielo.
Despite the weather forecast, the sun was shining brightly.
Dispettoso
→ Spiteful, mischievous
Che bambino dispettoso, ha nascosto le chiavi di proposito!
What a mischievous child, he hid the keys on purpose!
NB: aggettivo/adjective
Where does the word dispetto come from? 🔎
Dispetto comes from Latin despectus, the past participle of the verb despicere. This verb is particularly interesting because it comprises two elements: the prefix de- (indicating a downward movement) and specere (to look). So, literally, it meant "to look down upon".
The figurative meaning of "to despise" developed from this literal meaning, as looking down on someone is a typical gesture of showing contempt.
In Late Latin, despectus (contempt) gave rise to the Italian dispetto, which initially maintained the meaning of "disdainful superior attitude". Only later did the word develop its modern meaning of "action done specifically to annoy someone", while still maintaining that basic idea of superiority and contempt toward others.
