retractable

/ɹiˈtɹæktəbəl/ree-TRAK-tuh-buhl

Meaningable to be retracted

Common meaning: able to be retracted (inferred)

reback, againSkeat, Etymological Dictionary (1898), p. 506 · scan
tractto pull, dragLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 1885 · scan
ableable to be

‘back, again’ + ‘to pull, drag’ → retractable

Journey through time

Latinre- + trahere‘back, again + to pull, drag’source
Latinretractare‘to retract’source
Old Frenchretractersource
Englishretract‘to take back’
Englishformed in English from retractretractable‘able to be retracted (inferred)’ · today

Sources & notes

Inferred source: no dictionary we use has an entry for this exact word. Its history is worked out from closely related, listed words in the same family, and we are trusting that link, so bear that in mind. Inferred meaning: able to be retracted. It can be inferred from any of: retract.

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 retract + -able (inferred: this exact word is not listed in our dictionaries).

Roots

retractare Latin “to retract”
trahō, trāxī, tractum Latin “to pull, drag”

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