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reflect: reflect: [15] To reflect something is etymologically to ‘bend it back’. The word comes via Old French reflecter from Latin reflectere ‘bend back’, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘back’ and flectere ‘bend’ (source also of English deflect [17], flex [16], flexible [15], inflect [15], etc). The word’s optical application is a post-Latin development.
=> deflect, flex, flexible, inflect
kick (v.): late 14c., "to strike out with the foot" (earliest in biblical phrase now usually rendered as kick against the pricks), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Norse kikna "bend backwards, sink at the knees." "The doubts OED has about the Scandinavian origin of kick are probably unfounded" [Liberman]. Related: Kicked; kicking.

Figurative sense of "complain, protest, rebel against" (late 14c.) probably is from the Bible verse. Slang sense of "die" is attested from 1725 (kick the wind was slang for "be hanged," 1590s; see also bucket). Meaning "to end one's drug habit" is from 1936. Kick in "contribute" is from 1908; kick out "expel" is from 1690s. To kick oneself in self-reproach is from 1891. The children's game of kick the can is attested from 1891.
kink (n.): 1670s, a nautical term, from Dutch kink "twist in a rope" (also found in French and Swedish), probably related to Old Norse kikna "to bend backwards, sink at the knee" (see kick). Figurative sense of "odd notion, mental twist" first recorded in American English, 1803, in writings of Thomas Jefferson. As a verb, 1690s, from the noun.
recline (v.): early 15c., from Old French recliner "rest, lay; bend, lean over" (13c.) and directly from Latin reclinare "to bend back, to lean back; cause to lean," from re- "back, against" (see re-) + clinare "to bend," from PIE *klei-n-, suffixed form of *klei "to lean" (see lean (v.)). Related: Reclined; reclining.
Recline is always as strong as lean, and generally stronger, indicating a more completely recumbent position, and approaching lie. [Century Dictionary]
reflect (v.): late 14c., "turn or bend back;" early 15c., "to divert, to turn aside, deflect," from Old French reflecter (14c.), from Latin reflectere "bend back, turn back" (see reflection). Of mirrors or polished surfaces, to shine back light rays or images, early 15c.; meaning "to turn one's thoughts back on" is c. 1600. Related: Reflected; reflecting.
reflection (n.): late 14c., reflexion, in reference to surfaces throwing back light or heat, from Late Latin reflexionem (nominative reflexio) "a reflection," literally "a bending back," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin reflectere "to bend back, bend backwards, turn away," from re- "back" (see re-) + flectere "to bend" (see flexible). Of the mind, from 1670s. Meaning "remark made after turning back one's thought on some subject" is from 1640s. Spelling with -ct- recorded from late 14c., established 18c., by influence of the verb.
reply (v.): late 14c., "to make an answer," from Old French replier "to reply, turn back," from Late Latin replicare "to reply, repeat," in classical Latin "fold back, fold over, bend back," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)). Latin literal sense of "to fold back" is attested from mid-15c. in English but is not now used. Modern French répliquer (Middle French replier) is directly from Late Latin. Related: Replied; replying.
retroflex (adj.): 1776, from Modern Latin retroflexus, past participle of retroflectere "to bend back," from retro (see retro-) + flectere "to bend" (see flexible). The verb (1898) is a back-formation from retroflexed (1806), from the adjective.
supinate (v.): 1831, "to place the hand so that the palm is turned upward," from Latin supinatus, past participle of supinare "to bend back," related to supinus (see supine). Related: Supinated; supinating; supinator.