Making something smaller in size, amount, degree, or intensity. The present participle of reduce.
From Latin 'reducere' meaning 'to lead back' or 'bring back', composed of 're-' (back) + 'ducere' (to lead). The meaning shifted from 'bringing back' to 'bringing down' or 'lessening' in the 14th century.
Originally, 'reducing' meant leading something back to its proper place, like a general reducing scattered troops to formation. The modern sense of 'making smaller' came from the idea of bringing something back to a simpler, more basic state.
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