rebate

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English rebaten,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman rebatre, also rebattre,^[4][5] and Old French rabatre or rebatre, to beat down, drive back, also to deduct,^[4][3][2] the source of French rabattre.^[4][6] It is formed from re- (“back, again”) and abatre (“to beat down”),^[3][2][7][8] the source of abate.^[9][8] The English form replaced the first syllable of the French one with re-.^[7][10] Ayto traces the French verb to Vulgar Latin *abbattuō, formed from Latin ad- and battuō (“to beat”),^[9][6] the source of battle and combat.^[9] The noun is borrowed from Anglo-Norman rebat, also Middle French rabat (“discount”), or comes directly from the verb.^[4][2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To reduce, lessen or diminish: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus' De Proprietatibus Rerum.^[4][2] Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The first senses, reducing the force of something and driving back an enemy, are now obsolete.^[4][3] The money sense came early: the verb meant to deduct or subtract a sum by 1425, in the Rolls of Parliament.^[4][2][3] It meant to allow a reduction to someone before 1449,^[4] a sense Barnhart dates to 1523.^[2] In the 15th century the verb also meant to blunt a weapon or a blade (1468), a sense Johnson (1755) gave as its only meaning, quoting Shakespeare's "rebate and blunt his natural edge".^[4][11][6] In falconry it meant to bring a hawk back to the hand.^[4] The noun, a deduction from a sum to be paid, is recorded from 1478 in the OED,^[4] but from the mid 16th century in the Shorter Oxford, 1656 in Barnhart.^[7][2][3] Its modern sense, a partial refund of money already paid, is recorded by 1882,^[3] and the verb "to pay back as a rebate" from 1957.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1398 – to reduce or diminish.^[4][2]
• 1425 – to deduct or subtract a sum.^[4][2][3]
• before 1449 – to give a reduction to a person.^[4]
• 1468 – to blunt a weapon or blade.^[4]
• 1478 – noun, a deduction from a sum to be paid, a discount.^[4] Barnhart dates the noun to 1656.^[2]
• 1882 – noun, a repayment of part of a sum paid.^[3]
• 1957 – verb, to pay back as a rebate.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A return of part of an amount already paid; a partial refund: The buyers received a tax rebate.^[12][6][4]
2. A deduction from an amount to be paid; a discount.^[12][4][7]

Verb

1. To pay back part of an amount paid, or to give someone a rebate.^[4][12]
2. To deduct a part from a payment or total.^[12][4]
3. (archaic) To reduce or diminish the force or effect of something.^[12][6][4]
4. (archaic) To blunt or dull a blade or point.^[6][11][4]

Word family

• rebater
• rebatable

Related words

• abate
• rabbet
• batter
• debate
• abattoir

Usage notes

A separate rebate in woodworking and masonry, a step cut along the edge of a piece of wood or stone to receive another piece, is a variant of rabbet, perhaps influenced by this word; it is recorded from 1532 as a noun, 1674 as a verb.^[4][7] The stress is now usually on the first syllable for the noun, while the verb varies.^[4]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ 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.
12. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins