Etymograph

English

responsa

Responsa comes from Latin respōnsum ‘answer’, from spondeō ‘to promise, bind or pledge oneself, contract,…’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *spend- ‘to libate’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spend-1‘to libate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spondéyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spondejō1reconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spondeō1‘to promise, pledge’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspondeō1‘to promise, bind or pledge oneself, contract, vow’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErespondeō1‘to reply, answer, respond’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErespōnsum2‘answer’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErespōnsa2plural of respōnsum
  9. Englishtodayresponsa2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin responsum
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English responsa

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spend-Wiktionary, Latin responsum‘to libate’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*spondéyetiWiktionary, Latin responsumreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spondejōWiktionary, Latin responsumreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*spondeōWiktionary, Latin responsum‘to promise, pledge’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEspondeōWiktionary, Latin responsum‘to promise, bind or pledge oneself, contract, vow’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErespondeōWiktionary, Latin responsum‘to reply, answer, respond’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErespōnsumWiktionary, English responsa‘answer’
  8. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErespōnsaWiktionary, English responsaplural of respōnsum
  9. EnglishtodayresponsaWiktionary, English responsa

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *spend- ‘to libate’

espouse, 11 more

through Latin spondeō ‘to promise, bind or pledge oneself, contract,…’

spouse, sponsor, despondent, 9 more

through Latin respondeō ‘to reply, answer, respond’

correspond, 5 more

Today it means

noun A body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “responsa”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin responsum. 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 *spend- / responsa

Shirt and support for this word