redistribution

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + distribution, after the verb redistribute,^[2][3][4] which is recorded from 1611 and was originally modelled on French redistribuer, as in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.^[2] Etymonline instead takes the noun from French redistribution.^[5] Distribution is from Old French distribution and distributio (“a division, distribution”), a noun of action from distribuo (“to divide, deal out in portions”), from dis- (“individually”) and tribuo (“to pay, assign, grant”), from tribus (“tribe”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action or process of distributing something again or differently: 1825, in the Pamphleteer.^[2] Etymonline dates the word, also written re-distribution, to 1831, in the sense "a second or new distribution",^[5] and Dictionary.com to 1830–40.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The word soon came to be used above all of wealth and resources: the OED now defines it as the redistributing of something, typically wealth or resources,^[2] and the Shorter Oxford of the 19th-century word as especially the redistributing of wealth by taxation.^[3] Etymonline dates the political-economy sense of the verb redistribute to 1863.^[5] In economics redistribution also names the theory or policy of reducing inequalities of income and wealth, through such measures as progressive taxes and antipoverty programmes.^[6][4] The Historical Thesaurus files it among election terms as well, under the redistribution of parliamentary seats,^[7] and in Canada it is the periodic revision of the seats in the House of Commons to reflect changes in population.^[8]

Timeline

• 1825 – the action of distributing something again or differently.^[2] Etymonline dates the word to 1831.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or process of distributing something again or in a different way: the redistribution of farmland among the villagers.^[6][8][2]
2. The sharing out of wealth or income more equally, especially by means of taxation.^[3][2]
3. (economics) A theory or policy that seeks to reduce inequality in the distribution of wealth.^[6][4]
4. (Canada) A periodic revision of the number of seats in the House of Commons, made to reflect changes in population.^[8]

Word family

• redistributionist
• redistributional
• redistributive

Related words

• redistribute
• distribution
• distribute
• tribute
• tribe

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins