dispatch
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /dɪˈspætʃ/
ipa: /dəˈspæt͡ʃ/
rhymes: -ætʃ
Forms: form: dispatches
form: dispatching
form: dispatched
form: dispatched
form: depeche
form: despatch
Etymology: From Spanish despachar or Italian dispacciare, replacing alternate reflex depeach, which is from French dépêcher. Further, several steps omitting, from Latin dis- + impedicō (whence impeach). The first known use in writing (in the past tense, spelled as dispached) is by Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall in 1517. This would be unusually early for a borrowing from a Romance language other than French, but Tunstall had studied in Italy and was Commissioner to Spain, so this word may have been borrowed through diplomatic circles. The alternative spelling despatch was introduced in Samuel Johnson's dictionary, probably by accident.
Compare typologically deliver (for the meaning to bring or transport) (< Latin dē- + līberō).
Senses: glosses: To send (a shipment) with promptness.
examples: text: The League of One was suddenly exposed and in danger of being hunted by enemies of the salarians. Before any harm could be done, the team mysteriously disappeared.[...]Realizing the threat posed by this rogue outfit, the Special Tasks Group dispatched a team of hunters. When they didn't return, the STG dispatched ten of its brightest operators with broad discretionary powers. Only two returned; they reported no evidence of the League.
ref: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Salarians: League of One Codex entry:
glosses: To send (a person) away hastily.
glosses: To send (an important official message) promptly, by means of a diplomat or military officer.
examples: text: Scores of foreign journalists have been dispatched to Seoul to report on the growing tensions between the two Koreas and the possibility of war.
ref: 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times:
glosses: To send (a journalist) to a place in order to report.
examples: text: Yet, ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we / The business we have talk'd of.
ref: c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
text: the which company of harvest men, being ready at the day appointed, almost in one fair day dispatcheth all the harvest work.
ref: 1751 [1516], Thomas More, translated by Gilbert Burnet, Utopia, translation of original in New Latin:
glosses: To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.
examples: text: But whā I had cleane diſpatched myſelf of this great charge and taſke, I loked not that I ſhould at any tyme afterwarde have any more to doe with this kynde of writing
ref: 1548, Nicholas Udall, “The preface of Erasmus unto his paraphrase upon the Gospel of the Evangelist Matthew”, in The first tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the newe testamente, translation of original by Desiderius Erasmus, page 33:
glosses: To rid; to free.
examples: text: "And our dogs used to tree the cats on our property here, and we'd dispatch them."
ref: 2008, Monte Dwyer, Red In The Centre: The Australian Bush Through Urban Eyes, Monyer Pty Ltd, page 146:
text: So Tyrion hatches one last brilliant scheme in a season full of them, and this one goes exactly as well as all the others, even if it doesn’t look like it at first. He alone takes a meeting with Cersei, in her chambers, with the Mountain ready and waiting to dispatch him.
ref: 2017 August 27, Brandon Nowalk, “Game Of Thrones slows down for the longest, and best, episode of the season (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club:
synonyms: destroy
kill
glosses: To destroy (someone or something) quickly and efficiently.
examples: text: Gareth Southgate's side had little trouble dispatching the side 172nd in the Fifa rankings.
ref: 2023 June 17, Emma Smith, “Malta 0-4 England”, in BBC Sport:
glosses: To defeat
examples: text: These handlers perform any additional checking and processing that may be necessary before and after a message is dispatched to an object. In addition, some message types are handled internally by the kernel[…]
ref: 2004, Peter Gutmann, Cryptographic Security Architecture: Design and Verification, page 102:
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To pass on for further processing, especially via a dispatch table (often with to).
examples: text: prithee, dispatch
ref: c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
text: “Proceed, friend Nicolas, and let us dispatch; for, it grows late.”
ref: 1755, Miguel de Cervantes, translated by Tobias Smollett, Don Quixote, Volume 1, I.6:
glosses: To hurry.
glosses: To deprive.
Synonyms: make haste
send
Hyponyms: double dispatch
multiple dispatch
redispatch
single dispatch
with dispatch
Derived terms: dispatchability
dispatchable
dispatchee
dispatcher
undispatch
undispatched
Related terms: impeach
impede