reciprocate
[ri-sip-ruh-keyt]
- to give, feel, etc., in return.
- to give and receive reciprocally; interchange: to reciprocate favors.
- to cause to move alternately backward and forward.
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- to make a return, as for something given.
- to make interchange.
- to be correspondent.
- to move alternately backward and forward.
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Origin of reciprocate
1605–15; < Latin reciprocātus past participle of reciprocāre to move back and forth. See reciprocal, -ate1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for reciprocate on Thesaurus.com1. return, respond, retaliate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
reciprocate
- to give or feel in return
- to move or cause to move backwards and forwards
- (intr) to be correspondent or equivalent
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin reciprocāre, from reciprocus reciprocal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for reciprocative
reciprocate
v.
"to return, requite," 1610s, back-formation from reciprocation, or else from Latin reciprocatus, past participle of reciprocare "rise and fall, move back and forth; reverse the motion of," from reciprocus (see reciprocal). Related: Reciprocated; reciprocating.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper