{I quote from page 538 of the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition, published in 1992:
dis-re-spect n Lack of respect, esteem or courteous regard. --disrespect tr.v. -specte-ed, -spect-ing, -spects To show a lack of respect for: disrespected her elders; disrespected the law.
Gary, you’ll note that tr.v. stands for “transitive verb.” You’ll also note that the M-W dictionary dates it to 1614, 385 years ago. Seems you forgot to read the memo }PLDennison
Yes, but you’ll notice that the example adds “ed” or “ing” to the root. It would not be correct to say “Don’t disrespect my wife.”, like Robin Williams did in that movie (where he played a college professor no less). It should have been “Don’t be disrespectful towards my wife.” Also, what memo are you referring to?