reduce

reduce
\ \ [14] ‘Lessen, diminish’ is a comparatively recent semantic development for reduce. Its Latin ancestor was certainly not used in that sense. This was redūcere, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘back, again’ and dūcerelead, bring’ (source of English duct, duke, educate, etc). It meant literally ‘bring back’, hence ‘restore’ and also ‘withdraw’. The original ‘bring back’ made the journey to English, and even survived into the early 17th century (‘reducing often to my memory the conceit of that Roman stoic’, Sir Henry Wotton, Elements of Architecture 1624). The sense ‘lessen, diminish’ seems to be the result of a semantic progression from ‘bring back to a particular condition’ via ‘bring back to order’ and ‘bring to subjection’.
\ \ Cf.DUCT, DUKE, EDUCATE, INTRODUCE, PRODUCE, REDOUBT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • reduce — REDÚCE, redúc, vb. III. tranz. 1. A micşora, a scădea, a diminua (ca proporţii, cantitate, intensitate). ♦ spec. A micşora dimensiunile unei hărţi, ale unei piese etc., păstrând aceleaşi proporţii între elementele componente; a reproduce la… …   Dicționar Român

  • Reduce — Re*duce (r[ e]*d[=u]s ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Reduced} ( d[=u]st ),; p. pr. & vb. n. {Reducing} ( d[=u] s[i^]ng).] [L. reducere, reductum; pref. red . re , re + ducere to lead. See {Duke}, and cf. {Redoubt}, n.] 1. To bring or lead back to any… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • reduce — re‧duce [rɪˈdjuːs ǁ rɪˈduːs] verb [transitive] to make something less or smaller in price, amount, or size: • Jobs have been cut in order to reduce costs. • Prices have been reduced by 20%. reduce something (from something) to something …   Financial and business terms

  • reduce — re·duce /ri düs, dyüs/ vt re·duced, re·duc·ing 1: to make smaller 2 a: to convert (a chose in action) into a chose in possession enforcement action sought to reduce to possession her property interest in the...determination of money damages… …   Law dictionary

  • Reduce — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda REDUCE es un programa de uso general de álgebra computacional (CAS) encaminado hacia usos en física. Comenzó a ser desarrollado desde la década de 1960 por Anthony Hearn, desde enctonces, muchos científicos de todo… …   Wikipedia Español

  • reduce — ► VERB 1) make or become smaller or less in amount, degree, or size. 2) (reduce to) change (something) to (a simpler or more basic form). 3) (reduce to) bring to (an undesirable state or action). 4) boil (a sauce or other liquid) so that it… …   English terms dictionary

  • reduce — [v1] make less; decrease abate, abridge, bankrupt, bant, break, cheapen, chop, clip, contract, curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, debase, deflate, depreciate, depress, diet, dilute, diminish, discount, drain, dwindle, go on a diet*, impair,… …   New thesaurus

  • reduce — [ri do͞os′, ridyo͞os′] vt. reduced, reducing [ME reducen < L reducere, to lead back < re , back + ducere, to lead: see DUCT] 1. a) to lessen in any way, as in size, weight, amount, value, price, etc.; diminish b) to put into a simpler or… …   English World dictionary

  • reduce — (v.) late 14c., bring back, from O.Fr. reducer (14c.), from L. reducere, from re back (see RE (Cf. re )) + ducere bring, lead (see DUKE (Cf. duke) (n.)). Sense of to lower, diminish, lessen is from 1787. Etymological sense preserved in military… …   Etymology dictionary

  • reduce — / rɛdutʃe/ s.m. e f. [dal lat. redux ŭcis, der. di ducĕre guidare , col pref. re  ]. 1. [chi ritorna dalla guerra] ▶◀ ex combattente. 2. (estens.) [chi è appena uscito da un esperienza negativa, con la prep. da : essere r. da una lunga malattia ] …   Enciclopedia Italiana

  • reduce — 1 *decrease, lessen, diminish, abate, dwindle Analogous words: *shorten, abridge, abbreviate, curtail, retrench: *contract, shrink, condense Contrasted words: *increase, augment, enlarge, multiply: *extend …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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