DISPATCH

dispatch, or despatch, to send off immediately, or by express; particularly in the case of the sending of official messages, or of the immediate sending of troops to their destination, or the like. the word is thus used as a substantive of written official reports of events, battles and the like, sent by ambassadors, generals, &c., by means of a special messenger, or of express correspondence generally. from the primary meaning of the prompt sending of a message, &c., the word is used of the quick disposal of business, or of the disposal of a person by violence; hence the word means to execute or murder. the etymology of the word has been obscured by the connexion with the fr. _depecher_, and _depeche_, which are in meaning the equivalents of the eng. verb and substantive. the fr. word is made up of the prefix _de-_, lat. _dis-_, and the root which appears in _empecher_, to embarrass, and means literally to disentangle. the lat. origin of _depecher_ and _empecher_ is a low lat. _pedicare_, _pedica_, a fetter. the fr. word came into eng. as _depeach_, which was in use from the 15th century until "despatch" was introduced. this word is certainly direct from the ital. _dispacciare_, or span, _despachar_, which must be derived from the lat. root appearing in _pactus_, fixed, fastened, from _pangere_. the _new english dictionary_ finds the earliest instance of "dispatch" in a letter to henry viii. from bishop tunstall, commissioner to spain in 1516-1517.