Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “retrieve” come from?

Retrieve comes from Middle French retruev-, from French retrouver, from French trouver, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wer-, meaning to turn or twist.

retrieve (English): To regain or get back something; To rescue; To...

Definitions

  1. To regain or get back something; To rescue; To...

Ancestry of “retrieve”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchretruev-—
2Old Frenchretrover—
3Old Frenchre-re-
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 “retrieve”

  • irretrievably
  • retriever
  • irretrievable
  • retrievable
  • retrievability
  • unretrievable
  • retrievement
  • irretrievableness
  • retrievably
  • retrieveth
  • retrievableness
  • retrievest
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →