reassure

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + assure,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} after Middle French rassurer (“to restore confidence to”), which is recorded in Old French from the 12th century.^[2] The Anglo-Norman rasseurer, to reassure or encourage, is recorded from 1155,^[8] and Johnson (1755) derived the English verb from French.^[9] Assure is from Old French asseurer (“to reassure, calm, make sure”), from Vulgar Latin *assecuro, formed from ad (“to”) and securus (“safe, secure”).^[3] The insurance sense may follow French réassurer, recorded from 1681.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make safe or secure again: 1592, in a record of the Court of Requests, a rare sense now obsolete.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1594,^[5] Etymonline to the 1590s.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The modern sense, to restore confidence or calm to someone and remove their doubts or fears, is recorded from 1604, in Dallington's View of France.^[2][4] From 1611 it also meant to confirm someone in an opinion.^[2][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to free from fear; to restore from terrour", quoting Dryden.^[9] In insurance, from 1742, it meant to insure again, the same as reinsure.^[2][10][5]

Timeline

• 1592 – to make safe again (obsolete).^[2]
• 1604 – to restore confidence to, to remove the fears of.^[2]
• 1611 – to confirm in an opinion.^[2]
• 1742 – in insurance, to reinsure.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To relieve someone of anxiety or doubt; to restore confidence to: The pilot reassured the passengers that the delay was routine.^[10][2][4]
2. To confirm someone in an opinion or impression.^[2][4]
3. To assure again.^[5]
4. (insurance) To reinsure.^[10][5][2]

Word family

• reassurance
• reassuringly
• reassurement
• reassurer

Related words

• assure
• sure
• secure
• reinsure

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins