repercussion

the word "repercussion" entered english in the late middle english period via old french from latin repercussio, from the verb repercutere, meaning "to cause to rebound, to strike back". this verb itself is a compound of the prefix re- ("back") and percutere ("to strike through or against"). its earliest english meanings were literal, referring to the act of driving or forcing something back, or the reverberation of sound. the modern, dominant abstract sense of "an indirect and unwelcome consequence" developed in the 16th century, metaphorically extending from the idea of a blow or impact echoing back to its source, much like a sound wave. thus, the logic of the word traces a journey from a physical rebounding strike to the figurative notion of actions producing distant, often negative, echoes.

Structure: re (again) + percussion (striking) - re: a latin prefix meaning "again" or "back". - percussion: from latin percussionem (a striking), from percutere (to strike through). in this compound, it carries the sense of a forceful impact.