## Etymology
From Latin reflexus ('a bending back'), past participle of reflectere ('to bend back'), from re- ('back') + flectere ('to bend'), + -ive.

## AI Etymology
Reflexive comes from Latin reflexus ('a bending back'), past participle of reflectere ('to bend back'), from re- ('back') + flectere ('to bend'), + -ive. The historical chain includes Latin re-, Latin reflectere, and Latin flectere. Older glosses in the chain include "a bending back", "to bend back", "back", and "to bend", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, reflexive is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English adjective shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as an adjective, with the sense "performed automatically; in grammar, referring back to the subject". English derivatives include reflexively, reflexiveness, and reflexivity; related forms include reflex, reflect, reflection, and flexible. The result is an English adjective whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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