The Spanish word 'desdicha' (meaning 'misfortune') comes from combining the negative prefix 'des-' with the word 'dicha' (meaning 'happiness' or 'good fortune'). The word 'dicha' itself can be traced back to the Latin word 'dicta', meaning 'things said' or 'destiny', which comes from the Latin verb 'dicere' meaning 'to say' or 'to indicate'. The semantic evolution from 'things said' to 'destiny' in Latin, and then to 'happiness' in Spanish, reflects the ancient belief that spoken words could determine one's fate. Adding the negative prefix 'des-' reverses the meaning to create 'desdicha' - literally 'unhappiness' or 'misfortune'.

Some related Spanish words that might be more familiar to Spanish learners include 'dicha' (happiness), 'decir' (to say), and 'dichoso' (happy, fortunate). All these words share the same Latin root 'dicere'. While 'decir' maintained the original meaning of 'to say', 'dicha' and its derivatives evolved to relate to fortune and happiness.

English speakers might recognize connections to words like 'dictate', 'dictation', 'predict', and 'dictionary', which all come from the same Latin root 'dicere' (to say). While these English words maintained meanings related to speaking or declaring, the Spanish branch of this word family developed additional meanings related to fortune and destiny.