Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “retaliation” come from?

Retaliation comes from English retaliate, from Latin retaliātiō (noun form), from Latin re- (back) and Latin taliō (repayment in kind), from Proto-Indo-European wer- (to turn or twist).

retaliation (English): Violent or otherwise punitive response to an act...

Definitions

  1. Violent or otherwise punitive response to an act...

Ancestry of “retaliation”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ionan action or process, or the result of an action...
2Ancient Greekἀπόγειονapogee, greatest distance from the Earth
3Ancient Greekἀπόfrom, away from; because of, as a result of
4Ancient GreekἭλιοςsun
5Ancient GreekτύποςA blow, pressing; The results of a blow: mark,...
6Ancient Greekτύπτωto beat, strike, smite; to beat, strike oneself
7Proto-Indo-European(s)tewp-to push, to stick
8Proto-Indo-European(s)tew-to push, to hit

Words derived from “retaliation”

  • antiretaliation
  • nonretaliation
  • counterretaliation
  • retaliationism
Every word from Proto-Indo-European (s)tew- →