reaffirm

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + affirm.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Affirm is from Old French afermer, from Latin affirmō (“to make steady, strengthen”), which is formed from ad- (“to”) and firmō (“to strengthen”), from firmus (“strong”).^[4] Etymonline also records a hyphenated spelling.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To confirm or strengthen again: 1611, in Florio's Italian–English dictionary, translating Italian raffermare.^[2] The sense is rare and obsolete; the Shorter Oxford finds it only in the early 17th century.^[2][6] Etymonline likewise dates "to confirm anew" to the 1610s.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, to state again or stand by what was said before, is dated by the OED, revised in 2008, to 1624, in an account of the proceedings against the English at Amboyna,^[2] while Etymonline dates it to 1842 and the Shorter Oxford to the mid 19th century.^[4][6] It is often used of renewing a commitment or principle, and Collins gives reiterate, repeat and restate as synonyms.^[7][3] The noun reaffirmance is recorded from the early 18th century and reaffirmation from the mid 19th.^[6]

Timeline

• 1611 – to confirm or strengthen again (obsolete).^[2][4]
• 1624 – to affirm or assert again; to stand by a statement.^[2] Etymonline dates this sense to 1842.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To affirm or state again, especially so as to strengthen or confirm it: The board reaffirmed its support for the new policy.^[7][3][2]
2. (obsolete, 1611) To confirm or strengthen again.^[2][6]

Word family

• reaffirmation

Related words

• affirm
• affirmation
• confirm
• firm

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins