Where does “retouch” come from?
Retouch comes from French retoucher, formed from the prefix re- and toucher meaning "to touch," ultimately deriving from Latin tangere.
retouch (English): To improve something (especially a photograph), by adding or correcting details, or by removing flaws
Definitions
- To improve something (especially a photograph), by adding or correcting details, or by removing flaws
Ancestry of “retouch”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | retoucher | to retouch; to touch up, to put the finishing... |
| 2 | French | toucher | The act of touching; A way of touching; The sense... |
| 3 | German | -ieren | Verb suffix: it and its inflected forms are found... |
| 4 | French | -er | Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs |
| 5 | English | -er | A person or thing that does an action indicated... |
| 6 | Middle English | -er | agentive suffix; agent noun suffix |
| 7 | Old French | -er | Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;... |
| 8 | Latin | -āre | first conjugation |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | -āō | Forms primarily denominative verbs |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 13 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |