Despidió

Despidió is the third-person singular form of the Spanish verb despedir in the pretérito perfecto simple (preterite). It is used to express that someone fired or dismissed another person, typically from a job. For example: La empresa despidió a varios empleados. Despedir can also have a sense of emitting or giving off something, such as a scent, but this meaning is less common in everyday speech.

In contrast, to say goodbye or take leave in a reflexive sense, Spanish uses the pronominal form des- p e d i r s e: se despidió. Example: Él se despidió de sus compañeros. Therefore, despidió without se does not convey the farewell meaning.

Despidió is an irregular preterite form, derived from the stem desped- with the usual -ió ending for the third-person singular. Related forms include despido (present first-person singular: I dismiss; also a noun meaning dismissal), despedido (past participle or adjective: fired, the fired person), and the non-reflexive despedir (to dismiss). The present tense forms include despido, despides, despide, and so on.

Common usage notes: the verb is widely used in employment contexts—“despidieron a la plantilla” (they fired the workforce). When referring to bidding farewell, the correct form is se despidió, not despidió. Despedir and its derivatives coexist with synonyms such as echar, cesar, or despedirse for farewell contexts, depending on nuance and regional preference.