Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “respect” come from?

respect (Middle English) comes from Old French respect, from Latin respectus, from Latin respiciō, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro- — passed , crossed.

Ancestry of “respect”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchrespect—
2Latinrespectusrespected; looking back; regard, consideration,...
3Latinrespiciō—
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 “respect”

  • respect
  • respectable
  • respectful
  • dis
  • respectfully
  • respectability
  • disrespect
  • disrespectful
  • respectably
  • respecter
  • disrespectfully
  • respectfulness
  • unrespectable
  • disrespectable
  • nonrespectable
  • disrespectfulness
  • disrespectability
  • respectless
  • dissimilate
  • unrespectability
  • respectworthy
  • unrespectful
  • respectableness
  • disrespecter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →