Where does “respons” come from?
respons (Middle English) comes from Old French respons, from Latin respōnsus, from Latin respondeō, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro- — passed , crossed.
Ancestry of “respons”, step by step
respons traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Old French respons
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | respons | — |
| 2 | Latin | respōnsus | replied |
| 3 | Latin | respondeō | to reply, answer, respond |
| 4 | Latin | rĕ- | back, backwards |
| 5 | Latin | prōdūcō | to lead or bring forth, forward or out |
| 6 | Latin | prō- | forward direction, forward movement |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | *pro- | pro- see the Latin entry for further meanings |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |
via Old French responce
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | responce | — |
| 2 | Latin | responsum | answer, response; accusative supine of respondeō;... |
| 3 | Latin | responsus | replied |
| 4 | Latin | respondere | third-person plural perfect active indicative of... |
| 5 | Latin | respondeo | I reply, answer, respond; I measure up; I am... |
| 6 | Latin | re- | back, backwards; again; prefix added to various... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wret- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | wert- | to turn, to rotate |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wer- | to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel |