Etymology

irretentive

I1R1R1E1T1E1N1T1I1V4E1

Today it means: Not retentive; not apt to retain. Full definition →

English retentive ← Latin ir- ← Proto-Italic *n̥-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥-
  4. Latinin-
  5. Latinir-
  6. Englishir-
  7. Englishretentive
  8. English todayirretentive

From ir- + retentive.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.