I had to look up these two verbs the other day during a conference call.
Problem:
I was not sure which verb represented proper English.
Explanation:
The conference call entailed a review of verbiage to go into a Web-based application.
The review centered on how to communicate to a customer that two identities with the same company could be disconnected from one another.
One part of the document used the verb “disassociate”; another part of the document used the verb “dissociate”.
I had to look up these two verbs because I was unsure whether both were correct. Both verbs are correct and mean to remove from association.
The difference, according to at least one dictionary, is the age of the two verbs.
- The verb “disassociate” originated in the period of 1595 to 1605.
- The verb “dissociate” originated in the period of 1605 to 1615.
Solution:
Both verbs represent proper English. Use the one that you prefer, but be consistent within any given document that you are writing.