Meaning

noun a state in which all hope is lost or absent

noun the feeling that everything is wrong and nothing will turn out well

verb abandon hope; give up hope; lose heart

originFrom Middle English dispeir, from Anglo-Norman despeir and Old French desperer (from Latin dēspērō, dēspērāre), or desesperer, from des- (“dis-”) + esperer (“hope”). See also desperate. Displaced native Old English ormōdnes (“despair”) and Old English ortrīewan (“to despair”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0