deride

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin dērīdēre, the present active infinitive of dērīdeō (“to laugh at, make fun of, mock, deride”), from dē- (prefix denoting putting down or subjecting to indignity) + rīdeō (“to laugh; to laugh at, mock, ridicule”) (further etymology uncertain, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to rotate; to turn”) (referring to turning the mouth to smile) or *wreyd- (“to carve; to scratch”)). cognates * Old French dérider (rare), derire