Etymograph

English

riposte

Riposte comes from Italian risposta ‘answer, reply, response, feedback’, and goes back to Late Latin respondo.

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErespondo1as respondere
  2. Italianc. 1300–presentrispondere2‘to respond’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentrisposta2‘answer, reply, response, feedback’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentriposte2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1961riposte2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Italian rispondere
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English riposte
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Talking of trains: “This face-saving reminds us of some American ripostes a…”.

Lineage

  1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CErespondoWiktionary, Italian rispondereas respondere
  2. Italianc. 1300–presentrispondereWiktionary, English riposte‘to respond’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentrispostaWiktionary, English riposte‘answer, reply, response, feedback’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentriposteWiktionary, English riposte
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1961riposteWiktionary, English riposte. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Talking of trains: “This face-saving reminds us of some American ripostes a…”

Linked words

through Late Latin respondo

respond, 1 more

Today it means

noun A thrust given in return after parrying an attack.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “riposte”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Italian rispondere. 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 / Late Latin respondo / riposte

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