resilient

Where does the word "resilient" come from? It comes from Latin salire, passing through Latin before entering English (1600s).

Resilient’s story begins in Latin: salire meant “to jump, to leap.” To jump, to leap, combined with re- (back). Within Latin, it grew into resilire by ancient. To jump back, to spring back, from re- and salire. By ancient, Latin speakers had reshaped it into resiliens. Springing back, present participle of resilire. It reached English by 1600s as resilient. Settled as the English word for something able to recover quickly from difficulty. Today, resilient means able to recover quickly from difficulty, damage, or hardship.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient salire "to jump, to leap", to jump, to leap, combined with re- (back).
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient resilire "to jump back, to spring back", to jump back, to spring back, from re- and salire.
3. Stage 3 · Latin · ancient resiliens "springing back", springing back, present participle of resilire.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1600s resilient "able to recover quickly from difficulty or damage", settled as the English word for something able to recover quickly from difficulty.