# Is there such a word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686 "2001-05-27T15:44:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wyvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ebca7d/32.png) [@Wyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/1 "2001-05-27T15:44:50Z")
Is there such a word as “disheival”? My husband and I have been debating this for weeks. I think he means “disheveled” and it sounds weird with his thick Louisiana accent. I looked for it in our dictionary and it wasn’t there, but my beloved blockhead says its in an unabridged dictionary. Any ideas guys? I’d like to get one over on him 🙂 By the way, “disheival” is the way he spelled it to me, not me sounding it out. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/2 "2001-05-27T16:38:09Z")
It’s not in my unabridged (Merriam-Webster’s Third International). I think your beloved is combining “disheveled” and “upheaval.” How does he use/define it? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/3 "2001-05-27T17:18:22Z")
Well, my **Oxford English Dictionary** (than which there is nothing less abridged) does not have it. I will admit that I only have the 1986 update, not the really new one, but it is not a word I have heard coined in the last 15 years. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/4 "2001-05-27T18:11:11Z")
Of _course_ it’s a word! It means “the tableware used during the Middle Ages.” Sheesh. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mongrel\_8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@mongrel\_8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mongrel_8)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/5 "2001-05-27T18:12:45Z")
Well a quick check on [webster.com](http://webster.com) and [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com) show that they don’t have “disheival”. They are both current and unabridged to my knowledge. I searched google too and it didn’t turn up one page that used it. I guess that it could be some sort of specialized word for a certain profession. Most likey however your husband is wrong. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/6 "2001-05-27T19:10:20Z")
Perhaps he means _dishabille_, which means “the state of being partly undressed.” Does he use it when referring to you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2001, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/7 "2001-05-27T20:30:31Z")
**Wyvern** What does he think it means? That might help our search. The word _dish_ goes back to Shakespeare, meaning a pretty woman. Maybe he means it is a “pretty evil woman” or a “pretty, evil woman.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/8 "2001-05-28T01:18:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JeffB \* > \*\*Perhaps he means _dishabille_, which means “the state of being partly undressed.” Does he use it when referring to you? 😉 \*\* LOL Good call, **JeffB**. In French, that word is pronounced dee-za-bee-y’. In French, _s + h_ do not a “sh” sound make. There is a morpheme boundary between them, as in English _misheard_ (mis-heard), which, come to think of it, is an appropriate word for the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Chas.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Chas.E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chas.E)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/9 "2001-05-28T01:32:46Z")
I can’t quite recall the word you’re seeking but I think I remember it ends in -gry. ---
**Author:** ![Wyvern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ebca7d/32.png) [@Wyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyvern)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/10 "2001-05-28T04:19:28Z")
My spouse believes that dishevaled means to mess something up. That’s why I thought he meant disheveled. I agree with Scarlett67, he is probably mixing up disheveled and upheaval. Especially since when this word frist came up and I tried to correct him, he told me to look it up in the “fuctionary.” Which I think in “dictionary” mixed with, well, you know, f—k. August West, you better be pulling my leg because the hub is taking your response to mean that he is right. Thanks for all the help. I’ll remember to come hear next time we have pointless argument. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Michele\_in\_SoCal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michele_in_SoCal)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/11 "2001-05-28T04:23:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chas.E \* > \*\*I can’t quite recall the word you’re seeking but I think I remember it ends in -gry. \*\* LOL! Very clever, Chas.E! As I opened this topic I thought it might be a rehash of that old “hungry/angry” riddle! I read through all the musings and when I saw your post I truly laughed out loud. I was motivated to finally register (after a loooong time lurking) just to tell you so! ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/12 "2001-05-28T10:26:07Z")
…Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary, there is no “disheival”. But dishevel: (di shev/el), v.t., -eled, -el\*ing 1. to let down, as hair or wear or let hang in loose disorder, as clothing. 2. **to cause untidiness and disarray in** ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2001, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-such-a-word/66686/13 "2001-05-28T12:23:13Z")
Yes, I was joking. To me, the word like a combination of _dish_ and med_ieval_. Hence my definition. Pure, unadulterated, mullarkey.