Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “recessive” come from?

Recessive derives from Latin recessivus, meaning "tending to recede or withdraw."

recessive (English): Going back; receding; Able to be masked by a...

Definitions

  1. Going back; receding; Able to be masked by a...

Ancestry of “recessive”, step by step

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

Words derived from “recessive”

  • recessively
  • recessiveness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →