restive

The story

1. Latin · derived fromrestō
2. Old French · derived fromrestif
3. Middle English · inherited fromrestyf
4. English todayrestive

Modification of earlier restiff, from Middle English restyf, from Old French restif, from rester (“to stay, remain”), from Latin restō. * Shares an etymology with rest ("to remain," obsolete) *Merriam-Webster states that this word was originally used to describe horses that disobeyed commands. Presumably, then, the word came to mean fidgety or anxious more broadly.

Words from the same roots