English
restrictive
Restrictive comes from Middle French restrictif.
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600restrictif
- Englishearliest quotation 1961restrictive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600restrictif
- Englishearliest quotation 1961restrictive
Earliest quotation: 1961, Joseph Heller, The Soldier in White: “The help tended to be officious, the rules, if…”
Formed from restrict + -ive
Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- ‘to twist’
…
Proto-Italic *strengō
Latin stringō ‘press, tighten, compress’
Latin restringō ‘draw back tightly’
Latin restrictus ‘restricted, restrained, bound tightly, having…’
English restrict
Every English word from Middle French restrictif
Today it means
adj Confining, limiting, containing within defined bounds.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle French restrictif / restrictive