Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “retroreflect” come from?

retroreflect (English) comes from English reflect, from Old French reflecter, from Latin reflectō, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro- — passed , crossed.

retroreflect (English): To reflect in such a way that the reflected rays...

Definitions

  1. To reflect in such a way that the reflected rays...

Ancestry of “retroreflect”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishreflectTo bend back from a surface; To be bent back ...
2Old Frenchreflecter—
3Latinreflectō—
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
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →