Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “reactionary” come from?

Reactionary derives from French réactionnaire, formed from Latin re- (back) and agere (to do, act), with the agent suffix -arius and noun-forming suffix -arium, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-.

reactionary (English): Politically favoring a return to a supposed...

Definitions

  1. Politically favoring a return to a supposed...

Ancestry of “reactionary”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchréactionnairereactionary
2Frenchréactionreaction
3Russianреа́кция—
4Old Frenchreaction—
5Latinreactioreaction
6LatinreagoI act upon again, I do again; I react
7Latinrĕ-—
8Latinprōdūcō—
9Latinprō-—
10Proto-Italic*pro-—
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
13Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
14Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “reactionary”

  • reactionaryism
  • nonreactionary
  • reactionarily
  • reactionariness
  • neo-reactionary
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →