Reciprocal

How to spell reciprocal

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce reciprocal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reciprocal mean?

1. adjectiveGiven, felt, or done by each of two parties towards the other; mutual.
2. nounThe number obtained by dividing one by a given number, so that the two multiply to make one.

Reciprocal in a sentence

• adjective

  The two countries signed a reciprocal trade agreement that lowered tariffs on both sides.

• noun

  To divide by a fraction, multiply by its reciprocal instead.

• adjective

  Their respect for each other was entirely reciprocal.

• noun

  The reciprocal of four is one quarter.

Where does reciprocal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin reciprocus, which described something moving backwards and forwards or alternating in direction. Scholars believe reciprocus was built from an old pairing of recus 'backward' and procus 'forward', neatly capturing the idea of a thing that goes one way and then returns. English adopted it in the late 1500s, first as an adjective meaning 'given and received in return', and the noun reached mathematics soon after to name the number that, multiplied by another, returns you to one. The same back-and-forth notion survives in the verb 'reciprocate', which shares the identical root. A useful spelling cue is that the awkward middle, the unstressed 'roc' before the '-al', mirrors the steady to-and-fro motion the Latin word always carried.

How the word is built

• reciproc- (from Latin reciprocus: moving back and forth, alternating)
• -al (adjective/noun suffix)