"R" Word Origins

rejuvenation

Origin

From rejuvenate + -ion, cf. Latin reiuvenatiō.

Rekha

Sanskrit

Borrowed from Sanskrit रेखा (rekhā).

relapse

Latin

From Latin relabi, "to slide back," from re- ("back") plus labi ("to slip or slide").

relate

Latin

From Latin relatus, the past participle of referre, "to carry back or report." A doublet of "refer."

relation

Latin

From Old French relacion, from Latin relatio, "a carrying back," from referre, "to relate" — built from re- ("back") plus ferre ("to carry").

relationship

Old English

From relation plus the suffix -ship, which traces back to Old English -scipe, meaning "state" or "condition."

relative

Late Latin

From Late Latin relativus, from Latin relatus, "carried back" — the past participle of referre, "to relate."

relaunch

Origin

Formed from re- ("again") plus launch.

relax

Latin

From Old French relaxer, from Latin relaxare, "to loosen or open," from re- plus laxare, "to loosen" (related to lax).

relaxation

Latin

Borrowed from Latin relaxatio, itself formed from relax plus the noun-forming suffix -ation.

relaxed

Latin

From relax plus -ed, echoing Latin relaxatus.

relay

Old French

From Old French relai, originally referring to a reserve pack of hounds kept fresh to continue a hunt.

release

Latin

From Old French relaisser, itself from Latin relaxare, "to loosen or open again."

relegate

Origin

First attested in 1561, borrowed from Latin relēgātus, the past participle of relēgō (“to dispatch, banish”).

relent

Latin

From Anglo-Norman relentir, from Latin lentare, "to bend," related to lentus, "slow, pliant."

relentless

Origin

From relent plus -less, meaning "without."

relevance

Origin

From relevant plus the noun-forming suffix -ance.

relevant

Latin

Borrowed from Latin relevans, present participle of relevare, "to lift up, lighten, relieve" — the word first meant "legally pertinent" in Scots law before spreading into general English.

reliability

Origin

From reliable plus the noun-forming suffix -ity.

reliable

Origin

Formed from rely plus the suffix -able, meaning "able to be relied on."

reliance

Origin

From rely plus the noun-forming suffix -ance.

reliant

Origin

From rely plus the adjective-forming suffix -ant.

relic

Latin

From Old French relique, from Latin reliquiae, "remains," from relinquere, "to leave behind" — the same root as relinquish.

relict

Origin

Inherited from Middle English relicte (“widow”), from Middle French relicte (“widow”), from Late Latin relicta (“widow”), from Latin relictus, past participle of relinquō (“to abandon, to relinquish, to leave (behind)”), from re- + linquō (“to leave, quit, forsake, depart from”). Doublet of relic, derelict, and relinquish.

relief

Latin

From Italian rilievo, "raised work," from rilevare, "to raise," ultimately from Latin relevare.

relieve

Latin

From Old French relever, from Latin relevare, "to lift up, lighten" — from re- plus levare, "to lift."

reliever

Origin

From relieve + -er.

relieving

Origin

From relieve + -ing.

relievo

Origin

From Italian rilievo.

religion

Latin

From Old French religion, from Latin religio, "reverence for the sacred, conscientiousness" — possibly linked to religare, "to bind," though this connection is debated.

religionary

Origin

From religion + -ary.

religious

Latin

From Old French religieux, from Latin religiosus, "religious, conscientious."

relinquish

Latin

From Middle French relinquir, from Latin relinquere, "to leave behind" — from re- plus linquere, "to leave."

reliquary

Origin

Borrowed from Middle French reliquaire (modern French reliquaire), from Late Latin reliquiarium, from rēliquia (“a relic”) (English relic), noun use of reliquus (“abandoned, left behind, relict”), from relinquō (“to relinquish”), from re- (“again”) and linquō (“to leave”), from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ-.

reliquiae

Origin

From Latin reliquiae.

reliquidation

Origin

From re- + liquidation.

relish

Latin

A variant of release, originally meaning "taste" or "scent" in Middle English, ultimately from Latin relaxare.

relive

Origin

Formed from re- ("again") plus live.

reload

Origin

Formed from re- plus load.

relocate

Origin

Formed from re- plus locate.

relocation

Origin

Formed from re- plus location.

relucent

Origin

From Latin relūcent-, relūcēns, present participle of relucēre.

reluctance

Latin

From reluct (an older verb meaning "to struggle against") plus the noun-forming suffix -ance, ultimately from Latin reluctari, "to struggle against, resist."

reluctant

Latin

From Latin reluctans, "struggling against" — from re- ("back") + luctari ("to struggle").

rely

Latin

From Old French relier ("to fasten, bind"), from Latin religare ("to bind fast") — the same root that gives us "rely" its sense of being "tied to" something for support.

REM

Origin

Formed as a shortening — the radiation unit clips "roentgen equivalent man," while the programming sense clips "remark."

remain

Latin

From Old French remanoir, from Latin remanere — re- ("back") + manere ("to stay").

remainder

Anglo-Norman

From Anglo-Norman remaindre, an infinitive used as a noun meaning "that which stays behind."