retrieval

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /rɪˈtrivəl/ UK /rɪˈtriːvəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the act of getting back or recovering something, especially stored data

Fast data retrieval is the database's main selling point.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the act of getting back or... recovery recuperation reclamation recall extraction restoration

Opposites

loss storage deposit

Word family

Related forms retrieve retrievertrover

Etymology

From retrieve + -al, from Old French retrouver ('to find again'), from re- ('again') + trouver ('to find'), of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *tropare ('to compose, invent').

retrouver Old French trouver Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# retrieval

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /rɪˈtrivəl/
**IPA (UK):** /rɪˈtriːvəl/

## Meanings
1. the act of getting back or recovering something, especially stored data

## Examples
- Fast data retrieval is the database's main selling point.

## Synonyms
- recovery
- recuperation
- reclamation
- recall
- extraction
- restoration

## Antonyms
- loss
- storage
- deposit

## Related Forms
- retrieve
- retriever
- trover

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: retrouver
- Root: trouver

## Etymology
From retrieve + -al, from Old French retrouver ('to find again'), from re- ('again') + trouver ('to find'), of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *tropare ('to compose, invent').

## AI Etymology
Retrieval comes from retrieve + -al, from Old French retrouver ('to find again'), from re- ('again') + trouver ('to find'), of uncertain ultimate origin, possibly from Vulgar Latin *tropare ('to compose, invent'). The historical chain includes Old French retrouver and Old French trouver. Older glosses in the chain include "to find again", "again", "to find", and "to compose, invent", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, retrieval is best read as compound, suffixal formation, borrowing, and uncertain formation, yielding an English noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun, with the sense "the act of getting back or recovering something, especially stored data". related forms include retrieve, retriever, and trover. The result is an English noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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