Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Dispatch

Dis-patch′

(?; 224)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Dispatched
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Dispatching
.]
[OF.
despeechier
, F.
dépêcher
; prob. from pref.
des-
(L.
dis-
) + (assumed) LL.
pedicare
to place obstacles in the way, fr. L.
pedica
fetter, fr.
pes
,
pedis
, foot. See
Foot
, and cf.
Impeach
,
Despatch
.]
[Written also
despatch
.]
1.
To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.
Ere we put ourselves in arms,
dispatch
we
The business we have talked of.
Shakespeare
[The] harvest men . . . almost in one fair day
dispatcheth
all the harvest work.
Robynson (More’s Utopia).
2.
To rid; to free.
[Obs.]
I had clean
dispatched
myself of this great charge.
Udall.
3.
To get rid of by sending off; to send away hastily.
Unless
dispatched
to the mansion house in the country . . . they perish among the lumber of garrets.
Walpole.
4.
To send off or away; – particularly applied to sending off messengers, messages, letters, etc., on special business, and implying haste.
Even with the speediest expedition
I will
dispatch
him to the emperor's cou[GREEK][GREEK].
Shakespeare
5.
To send out of the world; to put to death.
Syn. – To expedite; hasten; speed; accelerate; perform; conclude; finish; slay; kill.

Dis-patch′

,
Verb.
I.
To make haste; to conclude an affair; to finish a matter of business.
They have
dispatched
with Pompey.
Shakespeare

Dis-patch′

,
Noun.
[Cf. OF.
despeche
, F.
dépêche
. See
Dispatch
,
Verb.
T.
]
[Written also
despatch
.]
1.
The act of sending a message or messenger in haste or on important business.
2.
Any sending away; dismissal; riddance.
To the utter
dispatch
of all their most beloved comforts.
Milton.
3.
The finishing up of a business; speedy performance, as of business; prompt execution; diligence; haste.
Serious business, craving quick
dispatch
.
Shakespeare
To carry his scythe . . . with a sufficient
dispatch
through a sufficient space.
Paley.
4.
A message dispatched or sent with speed; especially, an important official letter sent from one public officer to another; – often used in the plural;
as, a messenger has arrived with
dispatches
for the American minister; naval or military
dispatches
.
5.
A message transmitted by telegraph.
[Modern]
Syn. – Haste; hurry; promptness; celerity; speed. See
Haste
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Dispatch

DISPATCH

,
Verb.
T.
[L.]
1.
To send or send away; particularly applied to the sending of messengers, agents and letters on special business, and often implying haste. The king dispatched and envoy to the court of Madrid. He dispatched a messenger to his envoy in France. He dispatched orders or letters to the commander of the forces in Spain. The president dispatched a special envoy to the court of St. James in 1794.
2.
To send out of the world; to put to death.
The company shall stone them with stones, and dispatch them with their swords. Ezekiel 23.
3.
To perform; to execute speedily; to finish; as, the business was dispatched in due time.

DISPATCH

,
Verb.
I.
To conclude an affair with another; to transact and finish. [Not now used.]
They have dispatched with Pompey.

DISPATCH

,
Noun.
1.
Speedy performance; execution or transaction of business with due diligence.
2.
Speed; haste; expedition; due diligence; as, the business was done with dispatch; go, but make dispatch.
3.
Conduct; management. [Not used.]
4.
A letter sent or to be sent with expedition, by a messenger express; or a letter on some affair of state, or of public concern; or a packet of letters, sent by some public officer, on public business. It is often used in the plural. A vessel or a messenger has arrived with dispatches for the American minister. A dispatch was immediately sent to the admiral. The secretary was preparing his dispatches.

Definition 2024

dispatch

dispatch

English

Alternative forms

Verb

dispatch ‎(third-person singular simple present dispatches, present participle dispatching, simple past and past participle dispatched)

  1. To send a shipment with promptness.
  2. To send an important official message sent by a diplomat or military officer with promptness.
  3. To send a journalist to a place in order to report
    • 2013 April 9, Andrei Lankov, “Stay Cool. Call North Korea’s Bluff.”, in New York Times:
      Scores of foreign journalists have been dispatched to Seoul to report on the growing tensions between the two Koreas and the possibility of war.
  4. To hurry.
  5. To dispose of speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of; to finish; to perform.
    • Shakespeare
      Ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we / The business we have talked of.
    • Robynson (More's Utopia)
      [The] harvest men […] almost in one fair day dispatcheth all the harvest work.
  6. To rid; to free.
    • Udall
      I had clean dispatched myself of this great charge.
  7. (obsolete) To deprive.
  8. To destroy quickly and efficiently.
  9. (computing) To pass on for further processing, especially via a dispatch table (often with to).
    • 2004, Peter Gutmann, Cryptographic Security Architecture: Design and Verification (page 102)
      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 […]

Synonyms

Derived terms

Hyponyms

Translations

Noun

dispatch ‎(plural dispatches)

  1. A message sent quickly, as a shipment, a prompt settlement of a business, or an important official message sent by a diplomat, or military officer.
    • 2013 June 7, Gary Younge, “Hypocrisy lies at heart of Manning prosecution”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 18:
      WikiLeaks did not cause these uprisings but it certainly informed them. The dispatches revealed details of corruption and kleptocracy that many Tunisians suspected, but could not prove, and would cite as they took to the streets. They also exposed the blatant discrepancy between the west's professed values and actual foreign policies.
  2. The act of doing something quickly.
    When you act with dispatch, you act speedily and efficiently.‎
    • 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
      During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant […]
    • 2012 December 1, “An internet of airborne things”, in The Economist, volume 405, number 8813, page 3 (Technology Quarterly):
      A farmer could place an order for a new tractor part by text message and pay for it by mobile money-transfer. A supplier many miles away would then take the part to the local matternet station for airborne dispatch via drone.
  3. A mission by an emergency response service, typically attend to an emergency in the field.
  4. (obsolete) A dismissal.

Translations

Derived terms

Etymology


From Spanish despachar or Italian dispacciare, from Provençal despachar "to get rid of", from Middle French despeechier "to set free", from Old French

The etymology of the word is uncertain. It is connected to the French dépêcher and dépêche which are in meaning equivalents to this word. The French words are made up of the prefix dés- (Lat. dis-) and the root of empêcher (Lat. impedicare, composed from prefix in- and pedica) translated as 'to refrain', 'to stop'. The French word came into English as "depeach", which was in use from the 15th century until "despatch" was introduced. This word is direct from the Italian dispacciare, or Spanish despachar. The New English Dictionary finds the earliest instance of dispatch letter to Henry VIII. from Bishop Tunstall, commissioner to Spain in 1516–1517.

Pronunciation

Similar Results