"R" Word Origins

reupholstery

Origin

From re- + upholstery.

reuse

Origin

From re- + use.

reuven

Origin

Transliteration of Hebrew רְאוּבֵן

rev

Origin

Short for "revolutions," as in revolutions per minute (rpm).

revamp

Origin

The verb is derived from re- (prefix meaning ‘again, anew’) + vamp (“to patch, repair, or refurbish”). The noun is derived from the verb.

revanche

Origin

Borrowed from French revanche. Doublet of revenge.

reveal

Latin

From Latin revelare, "to uncover" — from re- ("back") + velare ("to cover"), from velum ("veil").

revealing

Middle English

From Middle English reveling; equivalent to reveal + -ing.

reveille

French

From French réveillez, the imperative of réveiller, "to wake up."

revel

Latin

From Old French reveler, "to make merry" or "be disorderly," from Latin rebello, "to rebel" — a doublet of "rebel."

revelation

Latin

From Latin revelatio, "disclosure," from revelare, "to uncover" — re- ("back") + velare ("to cover").

revelatory

Origin

Borrowed from Latin revēlātōrius. By surface analysis, revelat(e) + -ory.

revelry

Middle English

From Middle English revelrye, built on revel (a boisterous party) plus the suffix -ry.

revenant

French · 1800

Borrowed in the 19th century from French revenant, "coming back", from revenir, "to return" — the same root that gives us "revenue".

revend

Origin

From Old French revendre, from Latin revēndere, from re- (“re-: again, back”) + vēndere (“to sell”). Equivalent to re- + vend.

revenge

Latin

From Old French revengier/revenchier, ultimately from Latin vindicare — the same root that gives "vengeance" and "avenge".

revenue

Latin · 1400

Entered English around the 1400s from Old French revenue, "a return", from Latin revenire, "to come back" — literally money that "comes back" to you.

revenuer

Origin

From revenue + -er, reflecting the U.S. Treasury Department's former Bureau of Internal Revenue (a predecessor of the IRS and ATF), because the administrative mechanism for enforcing Prohibition originated in excise tax administration; Wikipedia gives details at Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives § History.

reverable

Origin

From revere + -able.

reverb

Latin

A shortening of reverberation, from Latin reverberare 'to beat back', from re- 'back' plus verberare 'to lash'.

reverberate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin reverberātus, perfect passive participle of reverberō (“to rebound; to reflect; to repel”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), whence Middle French reverberer (French réverbérer) and Middle English reverberen (“to send back”)), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) and verberō (“to beat; to lash, whip”) (from verber (“rod; lash, whip”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)).

reverberation

Origin

From Old French reverberation, from Medieval Latin reverberatio. Morphologically reverberate + -ion.

revere

Latin

From French révérer, from Latin revereor, "to stand in awe of" — built from re- plus vereor, "to fear".

reverence

Latin

From Old French reverence, from Latin reverentia, from revereor, "to stand in awe of".

reverend

Latin

Borrowed from Middle French révérend, from Latin reverendus, "that is to be respected" — the future passive form of revereor, "to revere".

reverent

Origin

From Middle English reverent, from Middle French reverent (from Old French reverent) and its etymon Latin reverēns. By surface analysis, revere + -ent.

reverie

French

Borrowed from French rêverie, from rêver, "to dream".

reversal

Middle English

From Middle English reversall, formed from reverse plus the suffix -al.

reverse

Latin

From Anglo-Norman/Old French revers, from Latin reversus, the past participle of reverto, "to turn back".

reversible

Middle French

From Middle French, formed on reverse plus the suffix -ible, "able to be".

reversion

Origin

Borrowed into late Middle English from Old French reversion (modern réversion), from Latin reversio, from revertō. By surface analysis, revert + -sion.

revert

Vulgar Latin

From Old French revertir, from Vulgar Latin revertire, based on Latin reverto, "to turn back".

revest

Origin

From Anglo-Norman revestir, revestre et al., Middle French revestir, and their source, Late Latin revestire, from Latin re- + to clothe.

review

Latin

From Old French reveue, "a looking back", from Latin revideo, "to see again" (re- + video, "to see"). A doublet of "revue".

reviewed

French

From Middle French reveue 'a viewing again', from revoir 'to see again'.

reviewer

Origin

From review + -er.

revile

Origin

From Middle English revilen, from re + Old French aviler (“to make vile or cheap, disprize, disesteem”), from a- (“to”) + vil (“vile, cheap”); see vile.

revise

Latin

Borrowed from Middle French réviser, from Latin reviso, "to look at again" — from re- plus viso, "to view".

reviser

Origin

From revise + -er.

revision

Latin

Borrowed from French révision, from Latin revisio, "a seeing again".

revisit

Latin

From Middle French revisiter and Latin revisitare, built from re- plus visit.

revisory

Origin

From revise + -ory.

revival

Origin

Formed from revive plus the suffix -al.

revive

Latin

From Late Middle English reviven, via Old French revivre, from Latin revivere, "to live again" — re- plus vivo, "to live".

revivify

Origin

Partly from French revivifier and partly from Latin revīvificō, corresponding to re- + vivify.

revocation

Origin

From Middle English revocacioun, revocation, from Old French revocacion, from Latin revocationem (accusative of revocatio); equivalent to revoke + -ation.

revoice

Origin

From re- + voice.

Revoir

French

Borrowed from French Revoir, variant of Rivoire.