- retrograde (adj.)
[retrograde 词源字典] - late 14c., originally of the apparent motions of planets, from Latin retrogradus "going back, going backward," from retrogradi "move backward," from retro- "backward" (see retro-) + gradi "to go, step" (see grade (n.)). General sense of "tending to revert" is recorded from 1530s.[retrograde etymology, retrograde origin, 英语词源]
- retrogress (v.)
- "move backward; deteriorate," 1816, probably a back-formation from retrogression. Related: Retrogressed; retrogressing.
- retrogression (n.)
- 1640s, noun of action, formed on model of progression, from Latin retrogressus, past participle of retrogradi "move backward" (see retrograde).
- retrogressive (adj.)
- "tending to move backward," 1785, from Latin retrogress-, past participle stem of retrogradi "move backward, go backward" (see retrograde) + -ive. Related: Retrogressively.
- retrospect (n.)
- c. 1600, "a regard or reference" (to something), from Latin retrospectum, past participle of retrospicere "look back," from retro- "back" (see retro-) + specere "look at" (see scope (n.1)). Meaning "survey of past events" is from 1660s.
- retrospection (n.)
- 1630s, noun of action from past participle stem of Latin retrospicere (see retrospect).
- retrospective (adj.)
- 1660s, from retrospect + -ive. As a noun, from 1964, short for retrospective exhibition (1908), etc. Related: Retrospectively.
- retrousse (adj.)
- "turned up" (of the nose), 1802, from French retroussé (16c.) past participle adjective from retrousser "to turn up."
- retroversion (n.)
- 1580s, "a tilting or turning backward," noun of action or state from Latin retroversus "turned or bent backwards," from retro (see retro-) + versus "turned" (see versus).
- retrovirus (n.)
- 1977, earlier retravirus (1974), from re(verse) tra(nscriptase) + virus. So called because it contains reverse transcriptase, an enzyme that uses RNA instead of DNA to encode genetic information, which reverses the usual pattern. Remodeled by influence of retro- "backwards."
- retune (v.)
- also re-tune, c. 1600 of musical instruments; 1974 of engines, from re- + tune (v.). Related: Retuned; retuning.
- return (v.)
- early 14c., "to come back, come or go back to a former position" (intransitive), from Old French retorner "turn back, turn round, return" (Modern French retourner), from re- "back" (see re-) + torner "to turn" (see turn (v.)). Transitive sense of "report officially" is early 15c.; "to send back" is mid-15c.; that of "to turn back" is from c. 1500. Meaning "to give in repayment" is 1590s; that of "give back, restore" c. 1600. Related: Returned; returning.
- return (n.)
- late 14c., "act of coming back," also "official report of election results," from Anglo-French retorn, Old French retorne, verbal noun from retorner (see return (v.)). In ball games from 1833; specifically in tennis from 1886. Meaning "a yield, a profit" is recorded from 1620s. Meaning "a thing sent back" is from 1875. Many happy returns of the day was used by Addison (1716). Mailing return address attested from 1884.
- returnable (adj.)
- early 15c., from return (v.) + -able.
- Reuben
- masc. proper name, Old Testament eldest son of Jacob and name of the tribe descended from him, from Greek Rouben, from Hebrew Reubhen, probably literally "Behold a son," from reu, imperative of ra'ah "he saw" + ben "a son." As a typical name of a farmer, rustic, or country bumpkin, from 1804. The reuben sandwich (1956) is "Not obviously connected" with the sense in rube [OED], possibly from Reuben's restaurant, a popular spot in New York's Lower East Side.
- reunification (n.)
- 1852; see re- + unification.
- reunify (v.)
- also re-unify, 1879, from re- + unify. Related: Reunified; reunifying.
- reunion (n.)
- c. 1600, "act or fact of coming together again," from re- "back, again" + union; or from French réunion (1540s). Meaning "meeting of persons of previous connection" is from 1820.
The island of Reunion, formerly known as Bourbon, was renamed during the French Revolution (1793) in commemoration of the 1792 union of revolutionaries from Marseille with the National Guard in Paris, renamed back to Bourbon after 1815, then back to the Revolutionary name after 1848. - reunite (v.)
- c. 1500, from Medieval Latin reunitus, past participle of reunire "unite again," from Latin re- "again" (see re-) + Late Latin unire "join together, make into one" (see unite). Related: Reunited; reuniting.
- reupholster (v.)
- 1872, from re- + upholster. Related: Reupholstered; reupholstering.
