Reaction
mid 17th century: from react + -ion, originally suggested by medieval Latin reactio(n- ), from react- ‘done again’ (see react).
wiktionary
Old French reaction, from Latin reāctiō, from the verb reagō, from re-(“again”) + agō(“to act”); more at re-, action; equivalent to react + -ion.
etymonline
reaction (n.)
"action in resistance or response to another action or power," 1640s, from re- "back, again, anew" + action (q.v.). Modeled on French réaction, older Italian reattione, from Medieval Latin reactionem (nominative reactio), a noun of action formed in Late Latin from the past-participle stem of Latin reagere "react," from re- "back" + agere "to do, perform."
Originally a word in physics and dynamics. In chemistry, "mutual or reciprocal action of chemical agents upon each other," by 1836. The general sense of "action or feeling in response" (to a statement, event, etc.) is recorded from 1914. Reaction time, "time elapsing between the action of an external stimulus and the giving of a signal in reply," attested by 1874.
