reflex
/ˈɹifleks/REE-fleks
/ˈɹiflɛks/REE-fleks
Meaningbent back
Common meaning: an automatic response
- reagain; back
- flexto bendLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 758 · scan
‘again’ + ‘to bend’ → reflex
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: Built on Latin flectō ‘to bend’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry flectō, p. 758 · dictionary scan
Roots
- flectō, flexī, flexum Latin “to bend”
Related words
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