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retrieval

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Etymology and origin of the English word retrieval

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1643 before 1643, W. Cartwright's Poems
Ultimate origins
Old French retruev-English -al
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English retrieve
English retrieval

Pronunciation

  • /ɹɪˈtɹiːvəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English retrieve + -al.[2][3][4][5] The verb retrieve goes back to the stressed stem of Anglo-Norman retruver, Old French retrover, modern French retrouver (“to find again”), formed from re- and trouver (“to find”).[3][2] The OED compares the earlier noun retrieve.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of retrieving or recovering something: before 1643, in W. Cartwright's Poems.[3] Merriam-Webster dates it to about 1643, Etymonline to the 1640s, and Dictionary.com to 1635–45.[6][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Retrieval follows the senses of retrieve, which first referred to dogs finding lost game, and which by the 1640s also meant recalling something to mind.[2][3] The phrase beyond retrieval (also past or without retrieval), to the point where recovery is impossible, is recorded from 1697.[3][4][6] In the 20th century the word was specialized for getting back stored information, especially from a computer, from 1954,[3][4] as in information retrieval and data retrieval.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1643 – the action of retrieving something; recovery.[3][6]
  • 1697 – beyond retrieval, past recovery.[3]
  • 1954 – the recovery of stored information, especially from a computer.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act or process of getting something back or recovering it: the retrieval of the stolen paintings.[7][6][3]
  2. The possibility of recovery or correction, especially in the phrase beyond retrieval.[7][6][4]
  3. (computing) The finding and obtaining of data or information stored in a computer or a file.[7][3][4]

Word family

  • information retrieval

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Retrieval.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/retrieval. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·