Etymologically
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deretro

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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