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Where does “reflective” come from?

Reflective comes from Anglo-Norman -if, Latin -ivus (suffix forming adjectives), Latin re- (prefix meaning back), and Proto-Indo-European wer- (to turn or bend).

reflective (English): That reflects, or redirects back to the source;...

Definitions

  1. That reflects, or redirects back to the source;...

Ancestry of “reflective”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishreflectTo bend back from a surface; To be bent back ...
2Old Frenchreflecter—
3Latinreflectō—
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 “reflective”

  • reflectively
  • reflectivity
  • unreflective
  • reflectiveness
  • unreflectively
  • nonreflective
  • irreflective
  • antireflective
  • reflectivist
  • retroreflective
  • hyperreflectivity
  • hyperreflective
  • hyporeflective
  • unreflectiveness
  • reflectivism
  • semireflective
  • metareflective
  • coreflective
  • nonretroreflective
  • thermoreflective
  • thermoreflectivity
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →