re-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "re"

English

Etymology

From Middle English re-, from Old French re-, from Latin re-, red- (back; anew; again; against), see there for more. Displaced native English ed-, eft-, a-, with-/wither-, gain-/again-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹiː/
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • IPA(key): /ɹɪ/
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • IPA(key): /ɹə/
    • Audio (US):(file)

Prefix

re-

  1. again, anew
    re- + ‎new → ‎renew (to make something new again)
    re- + ‎commit → ‎recommit (to commit an act again)
    re- + ‎heat → ‎reheat (to heat something that has cooled off)
  2. a completive or intensification of the base; up, a-, out
    reletter, relead, rebronze (examples from: [1])
  3. back, backward
    reject, reply, resist

Usage notes

  • The pronunciation varies depending on the word, with /ɹiː/, /ɹɪ/ (some pronunciations), /ɹɛ/ found in words like replay, resist and revolution, respectively.
  • The hyphen is not normally included in words formed using this prefix, except when the absence of a hyphen would make the meaning unclear. Hyphens are used in the following cases:
    • Sometimes in new coinages and nonce words.
      stir and re-stir the mixture
    • When the word that the prefix is combined with begins with a capital letter.
      re-Christianise
    • When the word that the prefix is combined with begins with another re-.
      re-record
    • In British usage, when the word that the prefix is combined with begins with e.
      re-entry (North American: reentry)
    • When the word formed is identical in form to another word in which re- does not have any of the senses listed above.
      The chairs have been re-covered (covered again)
      The chairs have been recovered (obtained back)
  • A dieresis may be used instead of a hyphen, as in reëntry. This usage is now rare, but extant; see diaeresis (diacritic) for examples and discussion.
  • re- is highly productive, to the point of being almost grammaticalized — almost any verb can have re- applied, especially in colloquial speech. Notable exceptions to this include all forms of be and the modal verbs can, should, etc. When used productively, it is always pronounced /ɹiː/.

Synonyms

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with re-

Translations

See also

References

  • re-”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
  1. ^ Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “re- (prefix),” December 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1031113569.

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin re-.

Prefix

re-

  1. re- (again)
    re- + ‎fer (to do) → ‎refer (to redo)
  2. intensifier for adjectives and adverbs
    Synonym: -íssim
    re- + ‎vell (old) → ‎revell (very old)
  3. great-, grand- (used to denote the removal of one generation)
    Synonym: bes-
    re- + ‎nebot (nephew) → ‎renebot (grandnephew)

Derived terms

Further reading

Chuukese

Prefix

re-

  1. (inflected as a noun) with
  2. (subject marker for tense modifying adverbs) they

Danish

Etymology

From Latin re-.

Prefix

re-

  1. re-
    Synonyms: gen-, om-, ny-

Derived terms

Danish terms prefixed with re-

References

Dutch

Etymology

From Latin re-. Doublet of her-.

Prefix

re-

  1. re-

Derived terms

Esperanto

Etymology

    From Latin re-.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /re-/
    • Audio:(file)
    • Rhymes: -e-
    • Syllabification: re-

    Prefix

    re-

    1. indicates repetition, again
    2. indicates a return to previous state, back
    3. indicates an action performed reciprocally, back (e.g., to hit back, to talk back)

    Derived terms

    Franco-Provençal

    Etymology

    From Latin re-.

    Prefix

    re- (ORB, broad)

    1. Attaches to verbs, often adding a sense of repetition or reversion.

    Derived terms

    Franco-Provençal terms prefixed with re-

    French

    Etymology

    From Latin re-.

    Pronunciation

    Prefix

    re-

    1. re-
      re- + ‎marcher (to function) → ‎remarcher (to function again)
    2. meaningless generic derivation prefix, especially as r-. From semantic bleaching of sense 1 followed by the unprefixed terms becoming obsolete or diverging in meaning.

    Usage notes

    This is only used when the stem starts with a consonant; otherwise, ré- or r- are used.

    Derived terms

    French terms prefixed with re-

    See also

    German

    Pronunciation

    Prefix

    re-

    1. re-

    Derived terms

    Hungarian

    Etymology

    From Latin re- (again; back).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): [ˈrɛ]

    Prefix

    re-

    1. indicates repetition, again
    2. indicates a return to previous state, back

    Derived terms

    Hungarian verbs prefixed with re-

    Indonesian

    Etymology

    Internationalism, ultimately from Latin re-. Doublet of her.

    Pronunciation

    Prefix

    re-

    1. re-

    Derived terms

    Further reading

    Interlingua

    Etymology

    From Latin re-.

    Prefix

    re-

    1. back, backwards
    2. again; prefix added to various words to indicate an action being done again, or like the other usages indicated above under English.

    Derived terms

    Interlingua terms prefixed with re-

    Italian

    Etymology

    Borrowed from Latin re-. The prefix re- is borrowed from Latin, while the variant ri- is inherited from Latin.[1]

    Prefix

    re-

    1. re-
      Synonym: ri-

    Usage notes

    • The prefix re- normally replaces ri- before words beginning with i, for euphonic reasons.

    Derived terms

    References

    1. ^ Migliorini, Bruno with Aldo Duro (1950), Prontuario etimologico della lingua italiana (in Italian), Paravia

    Latin

    Etymology

      From Proto-Italic *wre- (again), of uncertain origin (OED); see the Proto-Italic entry for more.[1]

      Prefix

      re-

      1. back, backwards
      2. un-, de-[2]
        re- + ‎glūtinō (glue) → ‎reglūtinō (unglue, separate)
        re- + ‎neō (spin, weave, entwine) → ‎reneō (unspin, unravel)
        re- + ‎gelō (freeze, congeal) → ‎regelō (thaw, unfreeze)
      3. again; prefix added to various words to indicate an action being done again, or like the other usages indicated above under English.

      Usage notes

      The alternative form red- occurs before vowels or h in old formations; it is used with the linking vowel -i- in the word redivīvus. The -d- can be compared to that in sēditiō (compare sē- and sed) and in prōd-, antid-, postid- (alternative forms of prō-, ante-, post-). It may originate from the particle *de[3] or from the use of -d as an archaic ablative singular ending. The use of the form re- before vowels, as in reaedifico, reinvito, is not seen until Late Latin.[3] (See Lewis & Short, A Latin Dictionary, 1897, s.v. "re" and "D").

      Before consonants, its usual form is rĕ- with short /e/, but the following consonant is sometimes doubled. In some cases, such as reccidī, the double consonant comes from syncope of an originally reduplicated syllable of the base word: compare the unprefixed form cecidī. In other cases, such as redducō, relligiō, relliquiae, the double consonant may have arisen from preconsonantal use of red-, with assimilation of -d- to the following consonant.

      Derived terms

      Latin terms prefixed with re-

      Descendants

      • Catalan: re-
      • English: re-
      • French: re-, ré-, r-
      • Galician: re-
      • Interlingua: re-
      • Italian: re-, ri-
      • Norman: re-, èr-
      • Occitan: re-
      • Picard: ar-
      • Portuguese: re-
      • Romanian: ră-, re-
      • Spanish: re-

      References

      1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “re-, red-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 516
      2. ^ R. B. Burnaby (1905), Elegiac Selections from Ovid, page 98
      3. 3.0 3.1 Lindsay, Wallace Martin (1894), The Latin Language, page 591

      Middle French

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re- (again; once more)

      Neapolitan

      Etymology

      Inherited from Latin re-.

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-

      Derived terms

      Neapolitan terms prefixed with re-

      Norman

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

      From Old French re-, from Latin re-.

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-

      Derived terms

      Norwegian Bokmål

      Etymology

      From Latin re-.

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-

      References

      Norwegian Nynorsk

      Etymology

      From Latin re-.

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-

      References

      Occitan

      Etymology

      From Latin re-.

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-

      Derived terms

      Occitan terms prefixed with re-

      Old French

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re- (again; once more)

      Polish

      Etymology

      Learned borrowing from Latin re-.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /rɛ/
      • Audio:(file)
      • Rhymes:
      • Syllabification: re-
      • Homophones: re, Re

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re- (again, anew)
      2. re- (back, backward)

      Derived terms

      Further reading

      • re- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

      Portuguese

      Etymology

      From Old Galician-Portuguese re-, from Latin re-.

      Pronunciation

       
      • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ʁe/ [he], /ˌʁe/ [ˌhe]

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re- (forms verbs indicating that the action is being done again)
        re- + ‎fazer (to do) → ‎refazer (to redo)

      Derived terms

      Portuguese terms prefixed with re-

      Further reading

      Romanian

      Etymology

      Borrowed from Latin re-. The form ră- only appears in a few inherited words.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): /re/

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-

      Slovak

      Etymology

      Learned borrowing from Latin re-.

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re- (again, anew)
      2. re- (back, backward)

      Derived terms

      Slovak terms prefixed with re-

      Spanish

      Etymology

      From Latin re-.

      The use with adjectives is typical of Ibero-Romance. Compare Italian stra- (from Latin extra-), French très (from Latin trans-; now spelt separate, but formerly also a prefix).

      Prefix

      re-

      1. back, backwards
        re- + ‎fluir → ‎refluir
        re- + ‎pugnar → ‎repugnar
      2. again
        re- + ‎construir → ‎reconstruir
      3. strongly, intensely
        re- + ‎bramar → ‎rebramar
      4. (now chiefly colloquial) forms absolute superlatives from adjectives
        Synonyms: muy, -ísimo
        re- + ‎bueno (good) → ‎rebueno (great)
        re- + ‎chulo (cute) → ‎rechulo (very cute)

      Derived terms

      Spanish terms prefixed with re-

      Further reading

      Swedish

      Prefix

      re-

      1. re-; doing something again
        Synonyms: åter-, om-

      Derived terms

      Anagrams