Etymologically
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resist

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:43. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹɪˈzɪst/, /ɹəˈzɪst/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English resisten, borrowed from Old French resister (“to hold out against”) and directly borrowed from Latin resistere (“to stand back; to withstand, oppose”),[2][3][4][5] from re- (“against”) and sistere (“to cause to stand, take a stand”), a reduplicated formation on stāre (“to stand”),[4][6][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *sta- (“to stand”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To stop or hinder, to stand against: about 1374–80, in Chaucer's translation of Boethius.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Of persons, to withstand or oppose, and of things, to stop a moving body, are both late 14th-century.[3] To withstand a natural force is from 1567.[7] To refrain from something tempting, as in could not resist, developed later.[8][9] The noun, resistance, is from 1535 and obsolete;[7] in calico printing, a substance applied to protect parts of a fabric from dye is from 1836,[7] and in Yorkshire dialect a resist dye was a fast one.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – to stand against.[7][2]
  • 1535 – the noun, resistance (obsolete).[7]
  • 1567 – to withstand a natural force.[7]
  • 1836 – a resist in calico printing.[7]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To fight against or oppose; to refuse to accept.
  2. To withstand the action or effect of: resist corrosion.
  3. To keep from doing or having something tempting: couldn't resist.

Noun

  1. A protective coating applied to a surface to keep dye, acid or glaze off certain parts.

Word family

  • resister
  • resistingly
  • nonresisting
  • unresisting
  • unresisted
  • irresistible
  • resistance
  • resistant

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)