From Latin 'extrahere' (to draw out) — whether a concentrated substance or a quoted passage, something pulled from a whole.
Definition
To draw or pull out, often with effort or force (verb); a substance obtained by extracting, or a passage taken from a text (noun).
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Latin15th centurywell-attested
From Latin 'extractus,' past participle of 'extrahere' (to draw out, to pull out, to drag forth, to remove), composed of 'ex-' (out of, from) + 'trahere' (to draw, to pull, to drag). ThePIE root behind 'trahere' is debated, but most scholars connect it to *tragh- or *dhragh- (to draw, to pull, to drag on the ground). The word entered English in the mid-fifteenth century
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The phrase 'vanilla extract' preserves the word's most literal Latin sense: something drawn out. Vanilla extract is produced by soaking vanilla beans in alcohol, literally drawing out the flavor compounds — the same physical process the Romans would have described with 'extrahere.'
: a concentrated substance drawn from a plant, mineral, or other source (seventeenth century — vanilla extract, malt extract) and a passage drawn from a
one of the richest word families in English: 'tractor' (something that pulls), 'traction' (the act of pulling), 'attract' (to pull toward), 'contract' (to pull together), 'detract' (to pull away from), 'distract' (to pull apart), 'protract' (to pull forward, to extend in time), 'retract' (to pull back), 'subtract' (to pull from below, to remove), 'abstract' (to pull away, hence removed from the concrete), 'trait' (something drawn out, a characteristic), 'trace' (a line drawn), 'trail' (something dragged), 'train' (something drawn along — originally a retinue, then a series of connected carriages), 'treat' (via Old French 'traitier,' to handle, to draw out in
), and 'retreat' (to draw back). The word thus sits at the center of a vast network of pulling, drawing, and dragging. Key roots: trahere (Latin: "to draw, to pull, to drag"), ex- (Latin: "out of, from"), *tragh- (Proto-Indo-European: "to draw, to drag").