Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “flashback” come from?

Flashback comes from English flash and back, with back deriving from French bac, Middle English flasken, Frankish flaska, Latin bassus, Ancient Greek βάσις, and Proto-Indo-European gʷémtis meaning foundation or base.

flashback (English): A dramatic device in which an earlier event is...

Definitions

  1. A dramatic device in which an earlier event is...

Ancestry of “flashback”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbackNear the rear; Not current; Far from the main...
2Frenchbacferry; vat; high school exit exam in France; A...
3Frenchbaccalauréatbaccalaureat; bachelor's degree
4Medieval Latinbaccalaureatusbachelor's degree
5Latinbaccalaureusbachelor
6Latinlaurealaurel, bay tree; crown, wreath or branch of...
7Latinlauruslaurel tree; laurels; a crown of laurel
8English-aceousOf, relating to, resembling or containing the...
9Latin-āceus—
10Latin-āx—
11Latin-iumSuffix used to form abstract nouns, sometimes...
12Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
13Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
14Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “flashback”

  • flash back
  • antiflashback
  • flashback
  • Flashback
  • flashback
  • flashback
  • flešbek
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →