Retaliate
/rɪˈtæl.i.eɪt/noun
To inflict an equivalent injury or punishment in return.
Did you know?Retaliate comes from a legal Latin root tied to talio, the principle of exact retribution — the ancient logic behind “an eye for an eye.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Latin
Latin
retaliare
“to requite in kind, to pay back with the same measure”
Classical Latin
Latin
talio
“retaliation, a punishment or injury of the same kind”
Late Latin
Latin
retaliatus
“past participle used in the sense of repaying or avenging”
Late 16th Century
English
retaliate
“to return like for like; to repay injury with injury”
Modern English
English
retaliate
“to do something harmful to someone because they have harmed you”