Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “retirement” come from?

Retirement derives from French retirement, from French retirer meaning to withdraw, built on French re- and Latin re- both meaning again, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots wert- and wer- meaning to turn.

retirement (English): An act of retiring; withdrawal; The state of...

Definitions

  1. An act of retiring; withdrawal; The state of...

Ancestry of “retirement”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchretirement—
2Frenchretirerto take off; to remove; to withdraw; to get out;...
3Late Latinretirareto withdraw
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 “retirement”

  • postretirement
  • preretirement
  • semiretirement
  • nonretirement
  • unretirement
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →