Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rephrase” come from?

Rephrase comes from Middle English re- combined with a word derived from Ancient Greek φράσις, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European wer- meaning to speak or say.

rephrase (English): To say or write something with different wording

Definitions

  1. To say or write something with different wording

Ancestry of “rephrase”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishre-again, anew; a completive or intensification of...
2Middle Englishre-—
3Old Frenchre-re-
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 “rephrase”

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