disrespect

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:59 AM -0400 5/1/00, Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM wrote:
>I boggled slightly at first, but while reading this thread I have realized
>that
>it fits into one of my standard generalizations that not all speakers share:
>"dis-" as a reversive prefix for nouns and verbs of affect. Specifically,
>I use
>"to disrecommend" with the obvious meaning. By this rule, "to disrespect"
>should
>refer to an emotion or attitude rather than to its expression, but that's a
>short enough step for me to take without discomfort.
>
>-- Mark

For me, it does in fact have this as its primary sense;  as seen below, the
OED lists both meanings disjunctively within the same header, evidently not
even seeing this as an instance of polysemy.

larry
==================
disre'spect, v. [f. dis- 6 + respect v. ] trans. The reverse of to respect;
to have or show no respect, regard, or reverence for; to treat with
irreverence.

       1614 Wither Sat. to King, Juvenilia (1633) 346 Here can I smile to
see..how the mean mans suit is dis-respected.

       1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts N.T. 11 If he love the one he must
disrespect the other.

       1683 Cave Ecclesiastici 231 (Basil) To honor him, and dis-respect
his Friend, was to stroke a man's head with one hand, and strike him with
the other.

       1706 Hearne Collect. 26 Apr., He was disrespected in Oxford by
several men who now speak well of him.

       1852 L. Hunt Poems Pref. 27 As if..sorrow disrespected things homely.

       1885 G. Meredith Diana I. 257 You will judge whether he disrespects me.