Where does “retire” come from?
Retire comes from Middle French retirer, formed from Old French re- (again) and tirer (to draw), ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European wer- (to turn).
retire (English): To stop working on a permanent basis, usually...
Definitions
- To stop working on a permanent basis, usually...
Ancestry of “retire”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | re- | again, anew; a completive or intensification of... |
| 2 | Middle English | re- | — |
| 3 | Old French | re- | re- |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | — |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | — |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | — |
| 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 |
Words derived from “retire”