'disqualify' originates from the Latin prefix 'dis-' meaning 'apart' and the word 'qualificare' meaning 'to make of a certain quality'.

'qualificare' transformed into the Old French word 'desqualifier', and eventually became the modern English word 'disqualify'.

Initially, it meant 'to deprive of a certain quality', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to declare ineligible'.