retribution (English)
Where does "retribution" come from?
The word 'retribution' traces back to the Latin 'retribuere,' which combines 're-' (back) with 'tribuere' (to assign or bestow). The latter stems from 'tribus,' referring to the ancient three-fold divisions of the Roman people, potentially linked to the Proto-Indo-European root for the number three. Over time, the meaning evolved from simply giving back or repaying to the moralized concept of inflicting punishment in response to a wrong.
Full etymology tree
- retribution (English), 'Punishment inflicted in the spirit of moral outrage or personal vengeance.'
- borrowed retribuere (Latin), 'inflection of retribuō:'
- affix re- (Latin), 'back, backwards'
- affix tribuō (Latin), 'to grant, bestow, assign, attribute'
- derived tribus (Latin), 'One of the three original tribes of Rome: Ramnes, Tities, Luceres.'
- compound trēs (Latin), 'three; 3'
- inherited *trēs (Proto-Italic), 'three'
- inherited *tréyes (Proto-Indo-European), 'three'
- inherited *trēs (Proto-Italic), 'three'
- inherited *triðus (Proto-Italic), 'trinity, tripartite entity'
- derived *dʰeh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to do'
- inherited *triβus (Proto-Italic)
- derived *bʰuH- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be, become, grow, appear'
- compound trēs (Latin), 'three; 3'
- suffix -ō (Latin), 'Used to form masculine nouns with various meanings:'
- derived tribus (Latin), 'One of the three original tribes of Rome: Ramnes, Tities, Luceres.'
- borrowed retribuere (Latin), 'inflection of retribuō:'
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris