Where does “retreat” come from?
Retreat comes from Old French retraite, derived from Latin retrahere, composed of the prefix re- and the verb trahere meaning "to draw or pull."
retreat (English): The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from...
Definitions
- The act of pulling back or withdrawing, as from...
Ancestry of “retreat”, step by step
retreat traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English retret
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | retret | — |
| 2 | Old French | retrait | — |
| 3 | Latin | retractus | withdrawn |
| 4 | Latin | retrahō | to draw or pull back, withdraw; call back, remove; withhold; divert |
| 5 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 6 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 7 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via English treat
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | treat | To negotiate, discuss terms, bargain; To... |
| 2 | Middle English | treten | — |
| 3 | Old French | tretier | — |
| 4 | Latin | tractāre | — |
| 5 | Latin | tractō | to tug, drag or haul |
| 6 | Latin | -tō | Forms here |
| 7 | Latin | -tus | Forms the past participle of verbs; Forms... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -tus | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tus | Derives action nouns from verb roots |