Where does “counteracting” come from?

Counteracting comes from English counter- plus act, with act from Middle English and Old French acte, Latin acta and actum (past participle of ago, meaning "to do or drive"), traced to Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-.

counteracting (English): present participle of counteract

Definitions

  1. present participle of counteract

Ancestry of “counteracting”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishcounteractAn action performed in opposition to another...
2EnglishAct
3EnglishactuallyIn act or in fact; really; in truth; positively;...
4Englishactualrelating to a person's acts or deeds; active,...
5Middle Englishactualactual, real, true
6Anglo-Normanactuel
7Old Frenchactual
8Latinactuālisactive, practical
9Latināctusmade, done, having been done
10Latinagōto act, to behave
11Proto-Italicagōdrive; push, impel; do, act
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éǵetito be driving
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂eǵ-to drive

Words derived from “counteracting

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂éǵetiEvery word from Proto-Italic agō
counteracting — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer