Etymologically
Log in

retreat

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:06. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɹɪˈtɹiːt/, /ɹəˈtɹiːt/[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English retret, borrowed from Old French retret, retrait,[2][3][4] a noun use of the past participle of retrere, retraire, to draw back,[2][3] from Latin retrahere (“to draw back”) (see retract),[2][5] from re-, back, and trahere, to draw (see tract).[2][3] The verb is partly from the noun and partly from Old French retraiter.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A step backwards: probably about 1300.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The signal for military withdrawal is from 1375, in Barbour's The Bruce.[2][7] The act of withdrawing is from 1390–93, in Gower,[2][7] and especially of an army after defeat from 1579 (to beat a retreat).[7] A safe, quiet place of seclusion is from probably before 1437.[2] A period of retirement for religious self-examination is from 1756,[3] and an establishment for the mentally ill from 1797.[3] The verb, to draw back or in, is from 1422,[2] and to withdraw from battle from before 1460.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – a step backwards.[2]
  • 1375 – the military signal.[2]
  • 1393 – a withdrawal.[2]
  • 1422 – the verb.[2]
  • before 1437 – a place of seclusion.[2]
  • 1756 – a religious retreat.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of withdrawing, especially from danger or an enemy.
  2. A place of peace, quiet and safety.
  3. A period of seclusion, as for prayer or study.
  4. A signal for troops to withdraw.

Verb

  1. To draw back; to retire.
  2. (military) To fall back in the face of an enemy.

Word family

  • retreater
  • retreatal
  • retreative
  • retreatant
  • retreatism
  • unretreating
  • retract
  • retire
  • tract
  • treat
  • trait

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press