deștepta

Where it comes from

Traditionally considered to be from Vulgar Latin *deexcitāre, from Latin de- + excitāre (“wake up”) (cf. Italian destare, also Dalmatian destruar), but is more likely from Latin dispectāre (frequentative of dispiciō (“look, discern, perceive, discover”) through its past participle dispectus). It is also possibly, but less likely, originally from dēspectāre (itself a frequentative of dēspiciō through its past participle dēspectus, but this word seems to have taken on the meaning of "look down upon, disdain" in the Western Romance language derivatives, which doesn't match with the Romanian meaning; it may be that the other languages derived their meanings directly from dēspiciō through its past participle instead of going through dēspectō). In Romanian, the hypothetical original form, *dișpepta, probably reached its current form under the analogous influence of aștepta. Compare Aromanian dishteptu, dishtiptari. Compare also Tarantino (dialect of Neapolitan) descetare (“to wake up”), which may instead derive from Latin oscitāre.