redeem

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English redemen,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Middle French redimer (“to buy back”), also redemer in Anglo-Norman,^[6][5][3] and directly borrowed from Latin redimō (“to buy back, ransom”).^[6][4][7] The Latin verb is formed from red- (“back”) and emō (“to take, buy”),^[4][5][2][8] from Proto-Indo-European *em- (“to take, distribute”);^[4][5] cognates include Lithuanian imti (“to take”).^[5][3] Klein and Merriam-Webster think the English form was influenced by the verb demen, to deem,^[8][3] and Barnhart that it was partly a back-formation from, or influenced by, redemption.^[5] Ayto points out that there never was a true deem in the word: the d belongs to the Latin prefix.^[9] An earlier verb, raim, from the same Latin verb through Old French, had already been borrowed into English.^[6] ransom is a doublet of redemption.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of God or Christ, to deliver a person or soul from sin or damnation: about 1438, in the Book of Margery Kempe.^[6] Barnhart dates redemen, to buy back, pay off, free, deliver, to about 1415,^[5] and Etymonline gives the early 15th century for "buy back, ransom", alongside the theological sense.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Most senses of the Latin verb, to buy back, ransom, make good and fulfil, came into English one by one.^[6] To make amends for a sin or failing is recorded from before 1464,^[6] to ransom a captive from 1465,^[6] and to free mortgaged or pledged property by paying what is due from 1474.^[6][7] The general sense "rescue, deliver" dates from the late 15th century,^[4][6] and "make good a loss" from the 1570s.^[6] The OED dates the sense "fulfil a promise" to 1795,^[6] Etymonline to 1840.^[4] The phrase redeem the time follows the Vulgate's version of Ephesians and Colossians.^[6][4] Weekley notes that redeeming feature is a 19th-century phrase.^[10] In the early 20th century the verb was extended to exchanging trading stamps or coupons for goods.^[11][12]

Timeline

• c. 1438 – to deliver from sin, of God or Christ.^[6]
• before 1464 – to make amends for a sin or failing.^[6]
• 1465 – to ransom a person from captivity.^[6]
• 1474 – to free pledged or mortgaged property by payment.^[6]
• before 1576 – to make good a loss.^[6]
• 1795 – to fulfil a pledge or promise.^[6]
• early 20th century – to exchange coupons or stamps for goods.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make up for a fault or failing; to restore oneself to favour: A late goal redeemed his poor performance.^[12][3][6]
2. To exchange coupons, vouchers or points for goods, money or a service.^[12][11]
3. To recover something pawned or mortgaged by paying what is owed; to pay off a debt or loan.^[12][11][6]
4. To convert bonds or shares into cash, or paper money into coin or bullion.^[12][11]
5. To fulfil a promise or pledge.^[12][11][6]
6. To free a person from captivity by paying a ransom.^[11][6][13]
7. (theology) To deliver from sin and its consequences.^[11][6][3]
8. To buy back or regain possession of something.^[3][12][11]

Word family

• redeemable
• redeemer
• unredeemable
• unredeemed

Related words

• redemption
• redemptioner
• Redemptorist
• redemptory
• ransom
• deem
• exempt
• example
• prompt

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.