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Origin and history of reciprocity

reciprocity(n.)

"state or condition of free interchange, mutual responsiveness," 1766, from French réciprocité (18c.), from reciproque, from Latin reciprocus, past participle of reciprocare "rise and fall, move back and forth; reverse the motion of" (see reciprocal). Specifically as "equality of commercial privileges between the subjects of different governments" is by 1782. Related: Reciprocality (1650s).

also from 1766

Entries linking to reciprocity

reciprocal(adj.)

1570s, "existing on both sides, exclusive or interchangeable" (of duties, etc.), with -al (1) + stem of Latin reciprocus "returning the same way, alternating," from pre-Latin *reco-proco-, from *recus (from re- "back;" see re-, + -cus, adjective formation) + *procus (from pro- "forward," see pro-, + -cus). Related: Reciprocally.

From 1590s as "given, felt, or shown in return;" c. 1600 as "corresponding or answering to each other, mutually equivalent." The sense of "moving backward and forward, having an alternating back and forth motion" (c. 1600) is obsolete. The noun meaning "that which is reciprocal" (to another) is from 1560s. In scientific and mechanical uses, reciprocating, reciprocative (1804), and reciprocatory (1826) have been tried.

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    relation
    c. 1300, relacioun, "relationship, connection, correspondence;" late 14c. as "act of telling or relating in words," from Anglo-French relacioun, Old French relacion "report, connection" (14c.) and directly from Latin relationem (nominative relatio) "a bringing back, restoring; a
    oriental
    late 14c., "of the orient; from the east," from Old French oriental "eastern, from the east" (12c.) and directly from Latin orientalis "of or belonging to the east," from orientem (see orient (n.)). Originally in reference to the sky, geographical sense, often with a capital O-,
    reciprocation
    1520s, "a reflexive mode of expression;" 1560s, "act of making a return (especially if mutual), mutual giving and returning, interchange of acts," from Latin reciprocationem (nominative reciprocatio) "retrogression, alternation, ebb," noun of action from past-participle stem of r
    virtue
    c. 1200, vertu, "moral life and conduct; a particular moral excellence," from Anglo-French and Old French vertu "force, strength, vigor; moral strength; qualities, abilities" (10c. in Old French), from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) "moral strength, high character, goodness;
    style
    early 14c., stile, "writing instrument, pen, stylus; piece of written discourse, a narrative, treatise;" also "characteristic rhetorical mode of an author, manner or mode of expression," and "way of life, manner, behavior, conduct." This is from Old French stile, estile "style, f
    ink
    "the black liquor with which men write" [Johnson], mid-13c., inke, from Old French enche, encre "dark writing fluid" (12c.), earlier enque (11c.), originally enca, from a shortening of Late Latin encaustum, from Late Greek enkauston. This is the neuter of the past-participle adje
    stake
    "pointed stick or post; stick of wood sharpened at one end for driving into the ground, used as part of a fence, as a boundary-mark, as a post to tether an animal to, or as a support for something (a vine, a tent, etc.)," Old English staca "pin, stake," from Proto-Germanic *stako
    bingo
    lotto-like game of chance, 1924; there are many theories about its origin, none satisfying; the most likely is bingo! as an exclamation of sudden realization or surprise (attested from 1923). Uncertain connection to the slang word for "brandy" (1690s), attested as "liquor" in Ame
    frog-march
    also frog's march, 1871, a term that originated among London police and referred to their method of moving "a drunken or refractory prisoner" by carrying him face-down between four people, each holding a limb; the connection with frog (n.1) perhaps being the notion of going along
    sabbatical
    1590s, "recurring in sevens or on every seventh;" 1640s, "of or suitable for the Sabbath," from Latin sabbaticus, from Greek sabbatikos "of the Sabbath," from sabbaton (see Sabbath). By 1836 as "characterized by rest or cessation from labor or tillage." Other adjectives from Sabb

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