Where does “report” come from?
Report comes from Middle English reporten, from Middle French reporter, combining Old French re- with Latin portāre meaning "to carry," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer- meaning "to turn" or "to carry."
report (English): To relate details of (an event or incident); to recount, describe (something)
Definitions
- To relate details of (an event or incident); to recount, describe (something)
Ancestry of “report”, step by step
report traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English reporten
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | reporten | to report |
| 2 | Old French | reporter | to bring back; to gain; to get |
| 3 | Old French | re- | re- again; once more |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via French rapporter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | rapporter | To bring back; To retrieve; To fetch |
| 2 | French | apporter | to bring (something) |
| 3 | Latin | apportō | to bring, carry, conduct or convey to; import |
| 4 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 5 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 6 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 7 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |