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
- An act of retiring; withdrawal; The state of...
Ancestry of “retirement”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | retirement | — |
| 2 | French | retirer | to take off; to remove; to withdraw; to get out;... |
| 3 | Late Latin | retirare | to withdraw |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 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 |