Etymologically
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rebellion

Etymology and origin of the English word rebellion

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
before 1340
Borrowed from
Old French rebellion via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (rebellis)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /rɪˈbel.jən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English rebellioun, borrowed from Old French rebellion and directly Latin rebelliō (“rebellion, revolt, renewal of war”),[2][3][4] from rebellis (“insurgent, rebellious”) (see rebel).[2][4] Collins notes that the Latin word was used of a revolt by the conquered.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Open defiance of or resistance to any authority: before 1340 in the OED.[6] Etymonline gives war against a government, at first especially against God or Church authority, in the mid-14th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

An instance of rebellion is from 1382,[6] and organized armed resistance to a ruler from about 1440.[6] In law, now only in Scotland, rebellion was disobedience to a legal summons (1550).[6] Two senses are obsolete: opposition or variance (1456) and the obstinacy of ulcers (1541).[6] A rebellion was also a rebel (1461).[6] Today it also covers dissent from accepted morals, dress or behaviour.[5]

Timeline

  • before 1340 – defiance of authority.[6]
  • 1382 – a rebellion.[6]
  • c. 1440 – armed resistance to a ruler.[6]
  • 1461 – a rebel (obsolete).[6]
  • 1550 – disobedience to a summons (law).[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Organized, often armed resistance to a government or ruler; a revolt.
  2. Defiance of any authority or of accepted convention.

Word family

  • prerebellion
  • subrebellion

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Rebellion.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/rebellion. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·