English
reactionary
Reactionary comes from Medieval Latin reactio ‘reaction’, from Latin agō ‘do’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘do’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEreagō‘to react’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500reactio‘reaction’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentréaction
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentréactionnaire
- Englishearliest quotation 1921reactionary
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘do’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEreagō‘to react’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500reactio‘reaction’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentréaction
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentréactionnaire
- Englishearliest quotation 1921reactionary
Earliest quotation: 1921, Valentine Chirol, India: “Hindu reactionaries, whose conception of a well-ordered society had…”
Formed from reaction + -ary
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- ‘to drive’
…
Latin reagō ‘to act upon again; to react’
Latin reāctiō ‘reaction’
Old French reaction
Middle English reaccion
English reaction
The story
Used in the time of the French revolution to refer to a person opposing the revolution; as in favoring a reaction against the revolution.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
suggest, register, essay, gesture, digest, acre, congestion, agrarian, belligerent, progesterone, ingest, agitate, gestation, agger, samaj, axiomatic, gerund, gestion, 130 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, antagonist, axiom, antagonism, agonist, antagonize, stratagem, glucagon, agonize, 103 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
actively, transaction, radioactive, inactive, unambiguous, hyperactivity, retroactive, ambiguously, 80 more
through Latin agō ‘do’
act, agency, agent, actual, action, active, activity, actor, agenda, examine, examination, ambiguous, squat, agile, ambiguity, activate, agility, assay, enact, radium, agitation, cogent, actuator, exigent, inexact, actuate, actuation, redact, 95 more
through Latin reagō ‘to react’
Today it means
adj Extremely conservative; opposing revolution (such as the French Revolution); favoring a return to a "golden age" of the past.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / reactionary