Where does “refrain” come from?
refrain (Italian) comes from French refrain, from Old French refraindre, from Vulgar Latin refrangere, from Latin refringere, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro- — passed , crossed.
refrain (Italian): refrain
Ancestry of “refrain”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | refrain | refrain, chorus |
| 2 | Old French | refraindre | to hold back, to restrain; to restrain oneself,... |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | refrangere | — |
| 4 | Latin | refringere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 5 | Latin | rĕ- | — |
| 6 | Latin | prōdūcō | — |
| 7 | Latin | prō- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | — |
| 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 |