Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “reactive” come from?

Reactive comes from English react, from Latin re- and actum, past participle of agō meaning to drive or do, from Proto-Indo-European h₂eǵ-.

reactive (English): that reacts or responds to a stimulus; that...

Definitions

  1. that reacts or responds to a stimulus; that...

Ancestry of “reactive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-iveAn adjective suffix signifying relating or...
2Middle English-yfA suffix designating adjectives, adverbs and...
3Old French-if-ive
4Latin-īvus—
5Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
6Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “reactive”

  • reactivity
  • immunoreactivity
  • immunoreactive
  • nonreactive
  • autoreactive
  • reactively
  • unreactive
  • hyperreactivity
  • alloreactive
  • reactiveness
  • vasoreactivity
  • alloreactivity
  • overreactive
  • photoreactive
  • hyperreactive
  • photoreactivity
  • autoreactivity
  • crossreactive
  • hyporeactivity
  • nonreactivity
  • overreactivity
  • seroreactivity
  • polyreactive
  • bioreactive
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →