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
- The absence of a response
Ancestry of “nonresponse”, step by step
nonresponse traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English response
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | response | An answer or reply, or something in the nature of... |
| 2 | Middle English | respounse | — |
| 3 | Old French | respons | — |
| 4 | Latin | respōnsus | replied |
| 5 | Latin | respondeō | to reply, answer, respond |
| 6 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 7 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 8 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |