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regret [regret 词源字典]: regret: [14] The origins of regret are not altogether clear, but it may mean etymologically ‘weep over again’. It was borrowed from Old French regreter, which could have been based on a prehistoric Germanic verb *grētan ‘weep’ (source of archaic English greet ‘weep’).
[regret etymology, regret origin, 英语词源]
regular: regular: [14] Regular ‘according to a rule’ is the most instantly recognizable English descendant of Latin rēgula ‘rule’ (others include rail ‘bar’ and rule). It goes back ultimately to the same Indo-European base as produced Latin regere ‘rule’ (source of English rector, regent, etc) and rēx ‘king’ (source of English regal, royal, etc). From it was derived the late Latin verb rēgulāre, which has given English regulate [17], and may also lie behind rile ‘annoy’ [19], a variant of an earlier roil which was possibly imported via Old French ruiler ‘mix mortar’.
=> rector, regent, regulate, rile, rule
regurgitate: regurgitate: see gorge
rehearse: rehearse: [13] To rehearse something is etymologically to ‘rake it over’. The word comes from Old French rehercer ‘repeat’, a compound verb based on hercer ‘harrow’. This was a derivative of the noun herce ‘large agricultural rake’, from which English gets hearse. At first in English too rehearse meant simply ‘say over again, repeat, recite’; not until the late 16th century did the modern theatrical meaning begin to emerge.
=> hearse
reign: reign: [13] Reign goes back via Old French reignier to Latin rēgnāre ‘be king, rule’, a derivative of rēgnum ‘kingship’ (source of English interregnum [16]). This was closely related to rēx ‘king’ (source of English regal, royal, etc), and also to regere ‘rule’ (source of English rector, regent, etc).
=> interregnum, regent
reimburse: reimburse: see purse
rein: rein: [13] A rein is etymologically something that ‘retains’. It goes back via Old French rene to Vulgar Latin *retina, a descendant of the Latin verb retinēre ‘hold back’, from which English gets retain and retinue. The rein for horses has no connection with the rein- of reindeer [14], incidentally; that comes from Old Norse hreinn ‘reindeer’, which may be of Lappish origin.
=> retain, retinue
rejoice: rejoice: [14] Rejoice was adapted from rejoiss-, the stem form of Old French rejoir ‘be joyful’. This was a compound verb formed from the intensive prefix re- and joir ‘be joyful’, which went back to Latin gaudēre ‘rejoice’, ultimate source of English joy. English originally used rejoice for ‘enjoy the possession of’. This survived until as late as the 16th century (‘Many covetous men do we see … to whom God gives power to get riches … but not liberty to rejoice and use them’, Sir Geoffrey Fenton, Golden Epistles 1577), and may lie behind the modern use of rejoice in for ‘possess’.
=> joy
relate: relate: [16] Something that is related to something else is etymologically ‘carried back’ to it. The word is based on relātus, the past participle of Latin referre ‘carry back, refer to’ (source of English refer). (Lātus was not the original past participle of Latin ferre ‘carry’; it was drafted in from tollere ‘raise’, source of English extol and tolerate.) Derivatives in English include relation [14] and relative [14].
=> extol, tolerate
relax: relax: see relish
release: release: see relish
relevant: relevant: [16] Relevant comes ultimately from the present participle of Latin relevāre ‘raise’, source of English relief and relieve. The modern English sense ‘appropriate’ probably developed from a medieval application of relevāre to ‘take up’, hence ‘take possession of property’, which led to relevant being used as a legal term for ‘connected with’.
=> relief, relieve
relic: relic: [13] A relic is etymologically something ‘left’ behind. The word comes via Old French relique from Latin reliquiae ‘remains, particularly of a dead saint’. This was a noun use of the feminine plural of reliquus ‘remaining’, an adjective formed with the prefix re- from the base *liq- ‘leave’ (source also of English delinquent [17] – etymologically ‘leaving things undone’ – and relinquish [15], and also of ellipse, lend, and loan).
=> delinquent, ellipse, lend, loan, relinquish
relieve: relieve: [14] Relieve goes back via Old French relever to Latin relevāre ‘raise again’, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘again’ and levāre ‘raise’ (source of English elevate, levy, etc). Its metaphorical extension to ‘lighten, alleviate’ began in Latin. The derived noun relief reached English in two phases. First, in the standard sense ‘easing, alleviation’, via Anglo-Norman relef in the 14th century; and then, in the 17th century, via French from Italian relievo in the sense ‘raised area in a design’ – a return to the etymological meaning ‘raise’.
=> elevate, levy, relevant
religion: religion: [12] Latin religiō originally meant ‘obligation, bond’. It was probably derived from the verb religāre ‘tie back, tie tight’ (source of English rely), a compound formed from the prefix re- ‘back’ and ligāre ‘tie’ (source of English liable, ligament, etc). It developed the specialized sense ‘bond between human beings and the gods’, and from the 5th century it came to be used for ‘monastic life’ – the sense in which English originally acquired it via Old French religion. ‘Religious practices’ emerged from this, but the word’s standard modern meaning did not develop until as recently as the 16th century.
=> ally, liable, ligament, ligature, rely
relinquish: relinquish: see relic
relish: relish: [16] Ultimately, relax [15], release [13], and relish are all the same word. They go back to Latin relaxāre ‘loosen’, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘back’ and laxāre, a derivative of laxus ‘loose’ (from which English gets languish [13] and lax [14]). Relax was acquired from the Latin verb itself, while release came via Old French relaisser (the notion of ‘loosening’ having led on to ‘letting go’). Relish came from Old French relais, a noun derived from relaisser; the sense ‘taste’ came from the idea of what is ‘released’ or ‘left behind’ after the food or drink has been swallowed.
=> languish, lax, relax, release
reluctant: reluctant: [17] To be reluctant about doing something is etymologically to ‘struggle against’ it. The word comes from the present participle of Latin reluctārī, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘against’ and luctārī ‘struggle’. Among the first English writers to employ it was John Milton, who used it in the literal Latin sense, describing the writhing Satan: ‘a monstrous serpent on his belly prone, reluctant, but in vain’, Paradise Lost 1667. ‘Unwilling, averse’, a metaphorical extension which saw the light of day in Latin, made its debut in English at the start of the 18th century.
rely: rely: [14] Rely comes via Old French relier from Latin religāre ‘tie back, tie tightly’ (source also of English religion). It was a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘back’ and ligāre ‘tie’ (source of English ally, liable, ligament, etc). It was originally used for ‘assemble’, which by the 16th century had developed via ‘come together with one’s friends’ to ‘depend’. The derivative reliable is first recorded in 16th-century Scottish English, but did not enter general usage until the mid 19th century.
=> ally, liable, ligament, ligature, religion
remain: remain: [14] Latin manēre meant ‘stay’ (it has given English manor, mansion, permanent [15], etc). Combination with the prefix re- ‘back, in place’ produced remanēre ‘stay behind, remain’, which passed into English via Old French remanoir. Its present participle gave English remnant [14]. A variant of remanoir was remaindre, which is the source of English remainder [15].
=> manor, mansion, permanent, remnant