disinter

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˌdɪsɪnˈtɜr/ UK /ˌdɪsɪnˈtɜː/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to dig up something that has been buried, especially a corpse

Investigators sought a court order to disinter the body for examination.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to dig up something that... exhume unearthdig upunbury

Opposites

inter bury entombinhume

Word family

Derived forms disinterment

Related forms inter interment terrestrial

Etymology

From dis- ('reversal') + inter; inter from Old French enterrer, from Medieval Latin interrare ('to put in the earth'), from in- ('in') + terra ('earth').

interrare Latin terra Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Word Formation & Derivatives

# disinter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˌdɪsɪnˈtɜr
**IPA (UK):** ˌdɪsɪnˈtɜː

## Meanings
1. to dig up something that has been buried, especially a corpse

## Examples
- Investigators sought a court order to disinter the body for examination.

## Synonyms
- exhume
- unearth
- dig up
- unbury

## Antonyms
- inter
- bury
- entomb
- inhume

## Derived Forms
- disinterment

## Related Forms
- inter
- interment
- terrestrial

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: interrare
- Root: terra

## Etymology
From dis- ('reversal') + inter; inter from Old French enterrer, from Medieval Latin interrare ('to put in the earth'), from in- ('in') + terra ('earth').

## AI Etymology
Disinter is from dis- ('reversal') + inter; inter from Old French enterrer, from Medieval Latin interrare ('to put in the earth'), from in- ('in') + terra ('earth'). The ancestry passes through Latin interrare and Latin terra. The prefix dis- often marks separation, reversal, or negation in Latin and English formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a verb, it means "to dig up something that has been buried, especially a corpse", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include inter, interment, and terrestrial; derived forms include disinterment.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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disinter

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