react English · revision 7146

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1644}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɹiːˈækt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[re-]] and [[act]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) originally suggested by Medieval Latin react-, the past participle stem of reagere, to do again.^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To exert an opposite action on the agent acting upon it: 1644 in the OED and MWU, the 1640s in Etymonline.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ To act in response to a stimulus is from 1656.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) In chemistry, of reagents, it is from 1797,^(OED 1989) and to act in opposition to a force from 1861.^(OED 1989) To move or tend in a reverse direction is from 1875.^(OED 1989)^(Hoad 1986) The separate ''re-act'', to perform again, with the full prefix, is from the 1650s.^(Etymonline) [[reaction|alt=Reaction]] is 17th-century, and [[reactionary]] 19th-century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1644 – to act in return.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1656 – to respond to a stimulus.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1797 – in chemistry.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1861 – to act against a force.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1875 – to tend backwards.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To act or behave in response to something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To respond badly to a substance such as a drug.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(chemistry)'' To undergo a chemical [[reaction]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(react against)'' To act in opposition to something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[overreact]]

+ * [[reactance]]

+ * [[reactant]]

+ * [[underreact]]

+ * [[reactive]]

+ * [[reactor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reaction]]

+ * [[reactionary]]

+ * [[act]]

+ * [[agent]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}