Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “respond” come from?

Respond derives from Latin respondēre, composed of the prefix re- and a root from Proto-Indo-European wer-, meaning to speak or turn.

respond (English): To say something in return; to answer; to reply;...

Definitions

  1. To say something in return; to answer; to reply;...

Ancestry of “respond”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchrespondreto reply; to respond
2Idorespondoanswer
3Latinrespondeō—
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 “respond”

  • respondent
  • responder
  • autoresponder
  • respondence
  • corespondent
  • nonresponder
  • nonrespondent
  • overrespond
  • respondency
  • respondeth
  • respondee
  • respondest
  • non-responder
  • респондент
  • respondance
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →