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reciprocal

UK/ɹɪˈsɪpɹək(ə)l/US/ɹɪˈsɪpɹək(ə)l/
adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,941 of 15,258leans written

Reciprocal means given by each side to the other. A reciprocal arrangement, reciprocal rights, reciprocal healthcare.

In agreements between countries it is the standard basis: each grants the other the same, which is what makes reciprocal healthcare arrangements work. In mathematics the reciprocal of a number is one divided by it, which is a different sense of the same idea.

Definitions of reciprocal

  1. 1adjectivereciprocalGiven by each side to the other.C1

    “The two schools have a reciprocal arrangement to share their sports fields.”

reciprocal is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin reciprocus means moving back and forth, probably from re, back, plus pro, forwards.

  1. Latin

    reciprocus

  2. English, today

    reciprocal

Built from

  • reque proque · Latin — back and forth, to and fro
  • re- · Latin — back
  • prō · Latin — forwards
  • -que · Latin — and

From Latin reciprocus. From Latin reciprocus, possibly from a phrase such as reque proque (“back and forth, to and fro”), from re- (“back”), prō (“forwards”) and -que (“and”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

reciprocal in the wild

  • Hamilton suggested renaming it "The Evolution of Reciprocal Altruism." While Trivers adopted the new title, he retained the original examples, causing confusion about reciprocal altruism for decades.

    Reciprocal altruism

  • The bearing of the opposite direction is also known as a reciprocal bearing; it forms a reciprocal line with the original bearing, e.g., the east-west line.

    Bearing (navigation)

  • For example, the reciprocal of 5 is one fifth (1/5 or 0.2), and the reciprocal of 0.25 is 1 divided by 0.25, or 4.

    Multiplicative inverse

  • Multiplying by a number is the same as dividing by its reciprocal and vice versa.

    Multiplicative inverse

  • Many languages, such as Semitic languages, Altaic languages or Bantu languages, have special reciprocal affixes in verbs.

    Reciprocal construction

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the reque proque family

reciprocatereciprocal

reciprocal — used about once every 7,462 pages · #10,941 · point at the bar for the others