Etymology
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relation (n.)

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 report, proposition," from relatus (see relate).

The meaning "person related by blood or marriage" is attested from c. 1500. The phrase no relation "not in the same family," used in differentiating persons with the same surname, is attested by 1930.

Entries linking to relation

relate (v.)

1520s, "to recount, tell," from French relater "refer, report" (14c.) and directly from Latin relatus, used as past participle of referre "bring back, bear back" (see refer), from re- "back, again" + lātus "borne, carried" (see oblate (n.)).

The meaning "stand in some relation; have reference or respect" is from 1640s; transitive sense of "bring (something) into relation with (something else)" is from 1690s. Meaning "to establish a relation between" is from 1771. Sense of "to feel connected or sympathetic to" is attested from 1950, originally in psychology jargon. Related: Related; relating.

correlation (n.)

1560s, "mutual relation, interdependence, interconnection," from French corrélation, from cor- "together" (see com-) + relation (see relation). Meaning "action of bringing into orderly connection" is by 1879.

updated on June 22, 2021

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Dictionary entries near relation

-rel

relapse

relatable

relate

related

relation

relational

relationship

relative

relatively

relativism

© 2001-2023 Douglas Harper