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
- Politically favoring a return to a supposed...
Ancestry of “reactionary”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | réactionnaire | reactionary |
| 2 | French | réaction | reaction |
| 3 | Russian | реа́кция | reaction |
| 4 | Old French | reaction | — |
| 5 | Latin | reactio | reaction |
| 6 | Latin | reago | I act upon again, I do again; I react |
| 7 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 8 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 9 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |