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reciprocate

[ ri-sip-ruh-keyt ]
/ rɪˈsɪp rəˌkeɪt /
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verb (used with object), re·cip·ro·cat·ed, re·cip·ro·cat·ing.

to give, feel, etc., in return.
to give and receive reciprocally; interchange: to reciprocate favors.
to cause to move alternately backward and forward.

verb (used without object), re·cip·ro·cat·ed, re·cip·ro·cat·ing.

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RELATED WORDS

bilateral, collective, communal, conjoint, connected, convertible, correlative, dependent, give-and-take, interchangeable, joint, public, reciprocal, related, respective, returned, united, associated, conjunct, interactive

Nearby words

  1. reciprocal inhibition,
  2. reciprocal insurance,
  3. reciprocal leveling,
  4. reciprocal transfusion,
  5. reciprocal translocation,
  6. reciprocating,
  7. reciprocating engine,
  8. reciprocation,
  9. reciprocity,
  10. reciprocity failure

Origin of reciprocate

1605–15; < Latin reciprocātus past participle of reciprocāre to move back and forth. See reciprocal, -ate1
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for reciprocative

reciprocate

/ (rɪˈsɪprəˌkeɪt) /

verb

to give or feel in return
to move or cause to move backwards and forwards
(intr) to be correspondent or equivalent
Derived Formsreciprocation, nounreciprocative or reciprocatory, adjectivereciprocator, noun

Word Origin for reciprocate

C17: from Latin reciprocāre, from reciprocus reciprocal
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper