Etymograph

English

report

Report comes from Middle English reporten, from Anglo-Norman reporter, from Latin reportō ‘to carry back’, from re- + portō ‘to carry’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportō1‘to carry’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreportō1‘to carry back, return, remit, refer’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400reporter1
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reporten1‘to report’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1485report1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English report
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, ij: “thenne they ansuerd by and by that they coude…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportōWiktionary, English report‘to carry’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreportōWiktionary, English report‘to carry back, return, remit, refer’
  3. Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400reporterWiktionary, English report
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500reportenWiktionary, English report‘to report’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1485reportWiktionary, English report. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, ij: “thenne they ansuerd by and by that they coude…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with report, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *per- ‘to lead, cross over, pass’

  • first ← fyrest ← *furist ← *furistaz ← *furai
  • far ← ferre ← *ferrai ← *per-nóy
  • per
  • before ← before//bifore ← beforan ← foran ← *furai
  • price ← pris ← pretium ← *pretjom ← *pr-é-ti ~ *pr-ó-ti
  • private ← privat ← prīvātus ← prīvō ← prīvus
  • further ← forþor ← *furþer
  • practice
  • fear ← feer ← fǣr ← *fērō
  • press ← presse ← pressa ← presser ← pressāre
  • primary ← prīmārius ← prīmus ← *prīzmos ← *préy
  • prime ← prīmus ← *priisemos

232 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To relate details of (an event or incident); to recount, describe (something).

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “report”. 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 / Latin portō / report