EtymologyMap
Back to all words

Trace the journey of words

Today it means

report

to give a spoken or written account of something observed or investigated

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "report" come from? It comes from Latin reportare, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "report" come from? It comes from Latin reportare, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Report’s story begins in Latin: reportare meant “to carry back.” To carry back, from re- (back) and portare (to carry). It reached English by 1300s as report. Settled as the English word for giving a detailed account of something. Today, report means to give a spoken or written account of something observed or investigated.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient reportare "to carry back", to carry back, from re- (back) and portare (to carry).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s report "to give a detailed account of something", settled as the English word for giving a detailed account of something.

Browse by origin