confound

confound
confound c.1300, "make uneasy, abash," from Anglo-Fr. confoundre, from O.Fr. confondre (12c.) "crush, ruin, disgrace, throw into disorder," from L. confundere "to confuse," lit. "to pour together, mix, mingle," from com- "together" (see COM- (Cf. com-)) + fundere "to pour" (see FOUND (Cf. found) (2)). The figurative sense of "confuse, fail to distinguish, mix up" emerged in Latin, passed into French and thence into M.E., where it is mostly found in Scripture; the sense of "destroy utterly" is recorded in English from c.1300. Meaning "perplex" is late 14c. The L. pp. confusus, meanwhile, became CONFUSED (Cf. confused) (q.v.).

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Confound — Con*found (k[o^]n*found ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confounded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confounding}.] [F. confondre, fr. L. confundere, fusum, to pour together; con + fundere to pour. See {Fuse} to melt, and cf. {Confuse}.] 1. To mingle and blend, so that …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • confound it — ● confound * * * conˈfound it/you! idiom (old fashioned) used to show that you are angry about sth/with sb Main entry: ↑confoundidiom …   Useful english dictionary

  • confound — I verb abash, astonish, astound, baffle, be uncertain, becloud, bewilder, bring into disorder, complicate, confundere, confuse, dumbfound, embrangle, embroil, entangle, involve, make havoc, mingle confusedly, mislead, muddle, mystify, nonplus,… …   Law dictionary

  • confound — 1 dumbfound, nonplus, bewilder, mystify, *puzzle, perplex, distract Analogous words: flabbergast, amaze, astound, astonish, *surprise: discomfit, faze, rattle, abash, *embarrass, disconcert 2 confuse, *mistake Analogous words: muddle, addle,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • confound — [v] confuse abash, amaze, astonish, astound, baffle, befog, bewilder, blend, bug*, commingle, confute, discombobulate*, discomfit, discountenance, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, fiddle, flabbergast, jumble, metagrobolize, misidentify, mix, mix up*,… …   New thesaurus

  • confound — ► VERB 1) surprise or bewilder. 2) prove wrong. 3) defeat (a plan, aim, or hope). ORIGIN Latin confundere pour together, mix up …   English terms dictionary

  • confound — [kən found′; ] for 3, usually [ kän′found] vt. [ME confouṅden < OFr confondre < L confundere, to pour together, confuse < com , together + fundere, to pour: see FOUND3] 1. to mix up or lump together indiscriminately; confuse 2. to make… …   English World dictionary

  • confound — verb /kənˈfaʊnd/ a) To confuse; to mix up; to puzzle. And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not… …   Wiktionary

  • confound — transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo French confundre, from Latin confundere to pour together, confuse, from com + fundere to pour more at found Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic to bring to ruin ; …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • confound — confoundable, adj. confounder, n. confoundingly, adv. /kon fownd , keuhn /; for 6 usually /kon fownd /, v.t. 1. to perplex or amaze, esp. by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse: The complicated directions confounded him. 2. to… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”