Retrocede

Retrocede is a verb that means to give back territory. Our word of the day combines the prefix R-E-T-R-O, meaning ‘return’ with ‘cede,’ a word of the Latin origin that means ‘to yield’ or ‘give up.’ Simply put, when we retrocede something, we give back what we had acquired. As a kid, I hated when my parents made me retrocede things I got from my big brother. Although I suppose you could say it was only fair to give back things that I stole in the first place.