Stupid Words

I’m very curious as to where the words “orientate” and its opposite, “disorientate,” came from. They sound incredibly stupid. What was wrong with “orient” and “disorient?” Fewer letters, and you don’t sound like a retard when you say them. Dictionary.com even says that the longer versions just mean “to orient” and “to disorient.” Everybody wins when you use the shorter form. Using the longer form means you like to kill puppies.