Where does “reprisal” come from?
Reprisal comes from Old French reprisaille, from Italian ripresaglia, derived from the past participle ripreso of riprendere, which traces to Latin reprendere, formed from the prefix re- and Latin prehendere meaning to seize or take.
reprisal (English): An act of retaliation; Something taken from an...
Definitions
- An act of retaliation; Something taken from an...
Ancestry of “reprisal”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anglo-Norman | reprisaille | repossession; retaking; act of taking something... |
| 2 | Old Italian | ripresaglia | — |
| 3 | Italian | ripreso | past participle of riprendere |
| 4 | Italian | riprendere | to take or grab again; to catch up to; to take... |
| 5 | Latin | reprendere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 6 | Latin | reprehendere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 7 | Latin | reprehendo | I hold back, hold fast, take hold of, seize,... |
| 8 | Latin | prehendo | I lay hold of, seize, grasp, grab, snatch, take,... |
| 9 | Latin | prae- | before; in front; in charge |
| 10 | Proto-Italic | prai- | pre-, before |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | preh₂- | before, in front |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |