Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “recourse” come from?

Recourse comes from Old French recours, from Latin recursus, the past participle of recurro meaning to run back, composed of the prefix re- and a root from Proto-Indo-European wer- meaning to turn.

recourse (English): The act of seeking assistance or advice; A...

Definitions

  1. The act of seeking assistance or advice; A...

Ancestry of “recourse”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchrecours—
2Latinrecursusreturned, reverted; recurred
3Latinrecurrō—
4Latinrĕ-—
5Latinprōdūcō—
6Latinprō-—
7Proto-Italic*pro-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “recourse”

  • nonrecourse
  • recourseless
  • recourseful
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →