- reflex (n.)
- 1508, "reflection of light," from the verb meaning "refract, deflect" (c.1380), from L.L. reflexus "a bending back," prop. pp. of reflectere (see reflection). Meaning "involuntary nerve stimulation" first recorded 1877, from reflex action (1833). Reflexology as a psychological theory is attested from 1927 (from Ger. reflexologie, 1912); as a foot massage technique, first recorded 1976.