reciprocal

English

Etymology

Latin reciprocus, possibly from a phrase such as reque proque (“back and forth, to and fro”), from re- (“back”), prō (“forwards”) and -que (“and”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈsɪpɹək(ə)l/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

reciprocal (not comparable)

1. Of a feeling, action or such: mutual, uniformly felt or done by each party towards the other or others; two-way.

   Synonym: reciprocating

   reciprocal love

   reciprocal duties

   • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi], page 304, column 2:

     Let our reciprocall vowes be remembred.

2. Mutually interchangeable.
   • 1725, Isaac Watts, Logick: Or, The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry after Truth, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Clark and Richard Hett, […], Emanuel Matthews, […], and Richard Ford, […], published 1726, →OCLC:

     These two rules will render a definition reciprocal with the thing defined.

3. (grammar) Expressing mutual action, applied to pronouns and verbs; also in a broad sense: reflexive.
4. (mathematics) Used to denote different kinds of mutual relation; often with reference to the substitution of reciprocals for given quantities.
5. Done, given, felt, or owed in return.

   a reciprocal invitation to lunch

Synonyms

• mutual, two-way
• contrary, opposite, converse, inverse, inverted, cross
• (grammar): reflexive
• See also Thesaurus:contrary

Derived terms

• antireciprocal
• irreciprocal
• prime reciprocal magic square
• reciprocal altruism
• reciprocal IVF
• reciprocal lattice
• reciprocal pronoun
• reciprocal proportion

 

Related terms

• reciprocity

Translations

done by each of two people towards the other

• Arabic: مُتَبَادَل (mutabādal)
• Belarusian: узае́мны (uzajémny)
• Bulgarian: взаи́мен (bg) (vzaímen)
• Catalan: recíproc (ca), mutu
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 相互 (zh) (xiānghù), 互相 (zh) (hùxiāng)

• Czech: vzájemný (cs)
• Danish: reciprok (da)
• Esperanto: reciproka
• Finnish: vastavuoroinen (fi)
• French: réciproque (fr) m or f
• Galician: recíproco (gl) m
• Georgian: ორმხრივი (ormxrivi), თანაზიარი (tanaziari), ურთიერთზიარი (urtiertziari)
• German: gegenseitig (de), reziprok (de)
• Greek: αμοιβαίος (el) (amoivaíos)
• Hebrew: הדדי (he) (hadadi)
• Hindi: आपसी (āpsī), पारस्परिक (hi) (pārasparik)
• Hungarian: kölcsönös (hu), viszonos (hu)
• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} gagnvirkur
• Latin: mūtuus. reciprocus
• Lithuanian: savitarpinis
• Macedonian: взаемен (vzaemen)
• Maori: whakautuutu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gjensidig (no)

  Nynorsk: gjensidig

• Polish: obopólny (pl), obustronny (pl), wzajemny (pl)
• Portuguese: recíproco (pt)
• Romanian: reciproc (ro), reciprocă f
• Russian: взаи́мный (ru) (vzaímnyj), обою́дный (ru) (obojúdnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: узајаман

  Roman: uzajaman (sh)

• Slovak: vzájomný
• Slovene: vzajemen
• Spanish: mutuo (es), recíproco (es)
• Swedish: ömsesidig (sv)
• Turkish: çift taraflı, karşılıklı (tr)
• Ukrainian: взає́мний (vzajémnyj)
• Volapük: rezipik (vo)

grammar: expressing mutual action, applied to pronouns and verbs

• Hungarian: kölcsönös (hu)

done, given, felt, or owed in return

• Bulgarian: реципро́чен (bg) (recipróčen)
• Catalan: al revés, a l'inrevés (ca)
• Finnish: päinvastainen (fi)
• Georgian: საპასუხო (saṗasuxo), ნაცვალგების (nacvalgebis)
• German: entgegengesetzt (de), umgekehrt (de)
• Hungarian: viszonzó (hu), viszont- (hu)
• Maori: whakautuutu
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gjensidig (no)

  Nynorsk: gjensidig

• Polish: odwrotny (pl) m
• Romanian: invers (ro) m
• Russian: обра́тный (ru) (obrátnyj)
• Spanish: al revés

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Hindi: अन्योन्य (hi) (anyonya)

Noun

reciprocal (plural reciprocals)

1. (arithmetic) The number obtained by dividing 1 by another given number; the result of exchanging the numerator and the denominator of a fraction.

   Synonym: multiplicative inverse

   0.5 is the reciprocal of 2.

2. (grammar) A construction expressing mutual action.
   • 2008, Ekkehard König, Volker Gast, Reciprocals and Reflexives: Theoretical and Typological Explorations:

     Depending on where reciprocalization applies (syntax vs. lexicon), the relevant reciprocal verbs are claimed to exhibit specific properties, in particular: (i) syntactic reciprocals are fully productive whereas lexical reciprocals have only limited productivity; […]

Translations

in mathematics

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 倒数 (zh)

• Czech: převrácená hodnota f
• Dutch: omgekeerde (nl) n
• Finnish: käänteisluku (fi)
• French: inverse (fr) f
• German: Kehrwert (de) m
• Hebrew: הופכי / הָפְכִּי m (hofkí)
• Hungarian: reciprok (hu)
• Icelandic: umhverfa f, margföldunarumhverfa f, margföldunarandhverfa f
• Japanese: 逆数 (ja) (gyakusū)
• Maori: tau huripoki, tau taupoki
• Polish: odwrotność (pl) f
• Portuguese: recíproca f
• Russian: ^{(please verify)} обратная величина́ (obratnaja veličiná)
• Swedish: invers (sv) c
• Tagalog: kabaligtad