What does despight mean?
Despight is an archaic form of the word now written as 'despite'. As a noun, it denotes contemptuous treatment, scorn, or spiteful malice, and it survives most recognizably in the old phrase 'in despight of,' meaning 'in defiance of' or 'notwithstanding.' The spelling with '-ght' was common in Middle English and Early Modern English, appearing in writers of the Renaissance, but it gradually gave way to the shorter modern form. Today 'despight' is encountered almost exclusively in historical literature, quotations, and deliberately archaic prose. Readers who meet it should understand it as a period spelling rather than a separate word: its meaning, pronunciation (/dɪˈspaɪt/), and origin are identical to those of 'despite.' Both trace back to Old French 'despit,' from Latin 'despectus,' meaning a looking down upon.
Contempt, scorn, or spiteful malice; an act of contemptuous treatment.
"He bore his rival's insults without returning despight."
Obsolete except in literary quotation.
Notwithstanding; in defiance of.
"In despight of the odds, she prevailed."
Modern English uses 'in despite of' or simply 'despite'.
Shakespeare's era spelled it with a 'gh' — 'in despight of all' appears across Renaissance literature before the spelling settled on 'despite'.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of despight
Despight comes from Old French 'despit' (modern French 'dépit'), derived from Latin 'despectus,' the past participle of 'despicere,' meaning to look down on. It entered English in the medieval period as both noun and preposition, and the '-ght' spelling reflects Middle English orthographic habits. Over time the spelling standardized to 'despite,' leaving 'despight' as an obsolete variant preserved in early printed texts.
How despight is actually used
Archaic and obsolete; found only in historical texts such as Shakespeare and the King James Bible. Modern writing uses 'despite'.
Easily confused with despight
'Despite' is the modern standard spelling and the preposition/noun in current use; 'despight' is simply an older, now obsolete spelling of the same word.