Etymograph

English

resistance

Resistance comes from Middle English resistence, from Old French resistence, from Latin resistentia, from resistēns, the participle of resistō ‘to resist’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresistō1‘to resist, withstand’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresistēns1‘resisting’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresistentia1
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400resistence1
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500resistence1‘resistance, opposition’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1695resistance1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English resistance
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1695, John Kettlewell, Chriſtianity: “[…]this Autority of his Perſon, doth notwithſtanding lay on…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresistōWiktionary, English resistance‘to resist, withstand’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresistēnsWiktionary, English resistance‘resisting’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEresistentiaWiktionary, English resistance
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400resistenceWiktionary, English resistance
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500resistenceWiktionary, English resistance‘resistance, opposition’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1695resistanceWiktionary, English resistance. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1695, John Kettlewell, Chriſtianity: “[…]this Autority of his Perſon, doth notwithſtanding lay on…”

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Today it means

noun The act of resisting, or the capacity to resist.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “resistance”. 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 resistō / resistance