English
retract
Retract comes from Latin retractus ‘withdrawn’, and goes back to trahō ‘to drag’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘to drag’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEretrahō‘to draw or pull back, withdraw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEretractus‘withdrawn’perfect passive participle of retrahō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500retracten
- Englishearliest quotation 1962retract
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtrahō‘to drag’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEretrahō‘to draw or pull back, withdraw’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEretractus‘withdrawn’perfect passive participle of retrahō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500retracten
- Englishearliest quotation 1962retract
Earliest quotation: 1962, The Design of the S.R. Electro-diesels: “The collector shoes are automatically retracted when the electric…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- ‘to run, to drag, to pull’
draw, train, draft, drag, extraction, draught, contraction, abstraction, subtraction, entreat, abstractly, 49 more
through Latin trahō ‘to drag’
treat, contract, attractive, portrait, attraction, abstract, extract, trait, distraction, traction, tractor, distract, tram, trattoria, tractable, 32 more
through Latin retractus ‘withdrawn’
Today it means
verb To pull (something) back or back inside.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin trahō / retract