Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “recalcitrant” come from?

Recalcitrant comes from French récalcitrant, from Latin recalcitrans, the present participle of recalcitrō, meaning to kick back, from Latin re- and calx, heel, ultimately from Ancient Greek χάλιξ.

recalcitrant (English): Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey...

Definitions

  1. Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey...

Ancestry of “recalcitrant”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchrécalcitrantrecalcitrant, rebellious
2Middle Frenchrecalcitrant—
3Latinrecalcitrāns—
4Latinrecalcitrō—
5Latinrĕ-—
6Latinprōdūcō—
7Latinprō-—
8Proto-Italic*pro-—
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
11Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “recalcitrant”

  • recalcitrantly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →