correspond (v.)
1520s, "to be in agreement, to be in harmony with," from French correspondre (14c.) or directly from Medieval Latin correspondere"correspond, harmonize, reciprocate," from assimilated form of com "together, with (each other)" (see com-) + respondere "to answer" (see respond).
Originally in Medieval Latin of two things in mutual action, but by later Medieval Latin it could be used of one thing only. In English, sense of "to be similar" (to) is from 1640s; that of "to hold communication with" is from c. 1600; specifically "to communicate by means of letters" from 1640s (in mid-18c. it also could mean "have sex"). Related: Corresponded; corresponding.
Entries linking to correspond
word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.
Before vowels and aspirates, it is reduced to co-; before -g-, it is assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, and -v-, it is assimilated to con-, which was so frequent that it often was used as the normal form.
"make answer, give a reply in words," c. 1300, respounden, from Anglo-French respundre, Old French respondere "respond, correspond" and directly from Latin respondere "respond, answer to, promise in return," from re- "back" (see re-) + spondere "to pledge" (see sponsor (n.)). Modern spelling and pronunciation is from c. 1600. From 17c. also "make a liturgical response." Related: Responded; responding.
1570s, "related by correspondence," present-participle adjective from correspond. Not common until 19c., when it took on the adjectival function of correspondent. Related: Correspondingly (1836).
updated on December 08, 2020
Dictionary entries near correspond
corrective
correctness
Corregidor
correlate
correlation
correspond
correspondence
correspondent
corresponding
corridor
corrigendum
