reflective
/ɹɪˈflektɪv/rih-FLEK-tiv
/ɹɪˈflɛktɪv/rih-FLEK-tiv
Meaningtending to reflect
Common meaning: thoughtful
Other meanings: throwing back light
- reagain; back
- flectto bendLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 758 · scan
- iveadjective ending: tending to
‘again’ + ‘to bend’ → reflective
Journey through time
- Latinflectō, flexī, flexum‘to bend’
- Englishreflect‘to throw back light’
- Englishformed in English from reflectreflective‘thoughtful’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from reflect + -ive.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), REFLECT, p.497 · scan
Roots
- flectō, flexī, flexum Latin “to bend”
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