English
recidivist
Recidivist comes from French récidiviste ‘reoffending’, from Latin recidīvus ‘returning, recurring’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- ‘to fall’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘fall’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErecidō‘to fall back’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErecidīvus‘returning, recurring’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentrécidiviste‘reoffending’
- Englishearliest quotation 1897recidivist
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱad-‘to fall’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*ḱádetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kadō‘to fall, sink’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcadō‘fall’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErecidō‘to fall back’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErecidīvus‘returning, recurring’
- Frenchc. 1600–presentrécidiviste‘reoffending’
- Englishearliest quotation 1897recidivist
Earliest quotation: 1897, Enrico Ferri, The Delinquent in Art and in Literature: “To return to Macbeth, I should like to note…”
Equivalent to recidive + -ist
Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- ‘to fall’
…
Proto-Italic *kadō ‘to fall, sink’
Latin cadō ‘fall’
Latin recidō ‘to fall back’
Latin recidīvus ‘returning, recurring, falling back’
English recidive
Linked words
through Latin cadō ‘fall’
case, chance, accident, occasion, incident, cheat, decay, casualty, incidence, coincide, cadence, decadent, cadaver, occidental, deciduous, occident, 15 more
Today it means
noun One who falls back into prior habits, especially criminal habits.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ḱad- / recidivist