Reciprocal | Meaning & Concept [Explained]

We explain what reciprocal is and what its uses are in various areas. Also, some synonyms and antonyms of this term.

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What is something reciprocal?

The word reciprocal in Spanish comes from the Latin reciprocus which It was a term used to describe the movement of sea waters which come and go with the waves. This logic was then applied to other areas, and thus the use we give to the term today was born, that is, to say something, which corresponds to both one side and the other. It is a derivative of the noun reciprocity.

Thus, we say that something is reciprocal when it is applied proportionately to two sides or two perspectives as occurs for example when talking about a feeling (which is reciprocal if both people feel it), a transaction (which is reciprocal if both parties involved obtain something in agreement), help (which is reciprocal when both parties benefit), or practically anything. Reciprocal relationships can be observed in emotional, psychological, objective, biological, etc. areas.

This term also has very specific uses within particular disciplines. For example, in cultural anthropology, The informal exchange of goods and work is called reciprocity. just as it happens in the economic system of a town. Similarly, in the field of mathematics, it is known as a reciprocal or multiplicative inverse of a number to another number that, following the expression 1/x or x-1, yields 1 as a result when multiplied by x. A final example of this is the use of reciprocal in law, for example, when talking about reciprocal contracts (that bind both parties) or reciprocal obligations (that both parties must obey).

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