Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “nonresponse” come from?

Nonresponse comes from English response, from Latin respondeo (to answer), combined with Latin nona (ninth) and nonus (ninth), ultimately from Latin novem (nine) and Latin re- (back).

nonresponse (English): The absence of a response

Definitions

  1. The absence of a response

Ancestry of “nonresponse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishresponseAn answer or reply, or something in the nature of...
2Middle Englishrespounse—
3Old Frenchrespons—
4Latinrespōnsus—
5Latinrespondeō—
6Latinrĕ-—
7Latinprōdūcō—
8Latinprō-—
9Proto-Italic*pro-—
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
12Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
13Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →