Etymologically
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redeem

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Pronunciation

  • /ɹɪˈdiːm/[1]

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

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.