English
refel
Refel comes from Latin refellere, and goes back to fallō ‘to deceive’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallōas fallere‘to deceive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErefellere
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604refel
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfallōas fallere‘to deceive’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErefellere
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604refel
Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “How I persuaded, how I pray'd, and kneel'd, How…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- ‘to stumble’
through Proto-Italic *falsō
fail, default, falsely, falsetto, 4 more
through Latin fallō ‘to deceive’
fault, false, failure, faux, fallacy, fallacious, fallible, falsify, falsity, 7 more
Today it means
verb To refute, disprove (an argument); to confute (someone).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fallō / refel