Where does “regretten” come from?
regretten (Middle English) comes from Old French regreter, from Old French re-, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro-, from Proto-Indo-European por- — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “regretten”, step by step
regretten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French regreter
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | regreter | to regret; to bewail; to lament |
| 2 | Old French | re- | re- again; once more |
| 3 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 4 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 5 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |