Where does “responsible” come from?

Responsible comes from Middle French responsable, from Old French responsible, meaning one who answers or is answerable for something.

responsible (English): Having the duty of taking care of something;...

Definitions

  1. Having the duty of taking care of something;...

Ancestry of “responsible”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchresponsable
2Old Frenchresponsable
3Latinrespōnsusreplied
4Latinrespondeōto reply, answer, respond
5Latinrĕ-back, backwards
6Latinprōdūcōto lead or bring forth, forward or out
7Latinprō-forward direction, forward movement
8Proto-Italic*pro-pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
10Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
11Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
12Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “responsible

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós
responsible — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer