Etymologically
Log in

deretro

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word deretro

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
after 220 AD, Itala
Ultimate origin
Latin dē,retrō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin de
French de
Italian da
Italian di
Italian dove
Latin deretro
French derrière
From the same root
Latin deforis ← de
Latin deintus ← de
Latin denuo ← de
Latin desuper ← de
Latin desursum ← de
French davantage ← de
French debout ← de
French devant ← de
Italian dappertutto ← da
Italian davvero ← da

Forms

dēretrō (adverb and preposition with the accusative; also written dē retrō)[1][2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē (“from”) + retrō (“back, behind”).[3][4][5] It is the source of Old French deriere (modern derrière), Italian dietro, Catalan darrere and Old Occitan dereire;[3][5] Romanian îndărăt continues it in a reshaped form.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wiktionary and Köbler date its first use to the Old Latin Bible (Itala),[3][4] where Georges cites it in Judges for “behind”, the same as retrō.[6]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb it means “behind, at the back” or “from behind”: it is found in Palladius and the veterinary Mulomedicina Chironis,[7][1] and the Vulgate has a crowd seen deretro et ab ante, behind and in front, in Baruch.[1][8]

Medieval Latin also used it as a preposition with the accusative or ablative, “behind”: a Tirol charter of 1236 places a field de retro castro Tridenti, behind the castle of Trento.[2] English took over French derriere in 1774 for the backside.[5]

Timeline

  • after 220 AD – The Itala, “behind”.[6][4]
  • 4th century AD – The Mulomedicina Chironis.[1][4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate, Baruch.[1][8][4]
  • 1236 – A Tirol charter uses it as a preposition.[2]
  • 1774 – English borrows French derriere.[5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. behind, at the back; from behind.[3][6][1][2]

Preposition

  1. (with the accusative, in Medieval Latin also the ablative) behind.[1][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  2. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre

Descendants

Cite this entry

“Deretro.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/deretro. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·