Etymograph

English

redux

Redux comes from Latin redux ‘that returns’, from redūcō ‘to bring back’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull, to draw’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-1‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwkti1‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukō1‘to lead’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcō1‘to lead, conduct, guide, direct, draw, bring, fetch, escort’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredūcō2‘to bring back’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredux2‘that returns’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2004redux2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin reduco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English redux
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Robert A. Levy, Shakedown: How Corporations: “10. It's Microsoft Redux All Over Again. Maybe the…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dewk-Wiktionary, Latin reduco‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*déwktiWiktionary, Latin reduco‘to pull, to draw’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*doukōWiktionary, Latin reduco‘to lead’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdūcōWiktionary, Latin reduco‘to lead, conduct, guide, direct, draw, bring, fetch, escort’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEredūcōWiktionary, English redux‘to bring back’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreduxWiktionary, English redux‘that returns’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2004reduxWiktionary, English redux. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Robert A. Levy, Shakedown: How Corporations: “10. It's Microsoft Redux All Over Again. Maybe the…”

The story

The word may have re-entered popular usage in the United States with the publication of the novel Rabbit Redux (1971) by John Updike, although it had previously been used in medicine, literary titles, and product names.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dewk- ‘to pull, to draw’

team, touch, tie, toy, introduce, tow, tying, tuck, duchess, tighten, tug, herzog, tether, taut, untie, tew, teem, induct, 93 more

through Proto-Indo-European *déwkti ‘to pull, to draw’

unproductive, productively, abductor, preproduction, 92 more

through Proto-Italic *doukō ‘to lead’

producer, productive, productivity, conductor, reproduction, reproduce, deduction, byproduct, seduction, conduction, inductive, subduction, deduct, transduction, abduct, overproduction, ductile, inductor, adductor, adduct, dukedom, 96 more

through Latin dūcō ‘to lead, conduct, guide, direct, draw, bring,…’

production, education, product, produce, introduction, conduct, duke, dolphin, induction, educate, conn, douche, induce, duct, educator, conducive, doge, subdue, seduce, duchy, transducer, cond, duc, duce, ducal, dux, 117 more

through Latin redūcō ‘to bring back’

reduce, reduction, reductive, redoubt

Today it means

adj Of a topic, redone, restored, brought back, or revisited.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “redux”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin reduco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dewk- / redux

Shirt and support for this word