Confute \kuhn-FYOOT\ , transitive verb;
1. To overwhelm by argument; to refute conclusively; to prove or show to be false.
This word dates to the 1520's and comes from Middle French confuter from Latin confutare ("repress, check; disprove, restrain, silence"). The Latin word is a combination of com- + *futare (intensive prefix + "to beat"). *Futare is derived from the Proto-Indo-Europen base *bhau-, which means "to strike, beat".
Today's word and the first definition were both taken from Dictionary.com's 'Word of the Day' for Saturday, March 5
Etymologies come from the Oxford English Dictionary and/or Etymonline.com
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