renovation

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English renovacioun,^[2][3] partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman renovation and renovacion, partly borrowed from Latin renovātiō (“a renewing, renewal”),^[4][2][5][3] a noun of action from renovātus, the past participle of renovō (“to renew, restore”).^[2][4][3] The verb is made of re- (“again”) and novō (“to make new”), from novus (“new”),^[2] so it is related to English new.^[2] In Old French the noun meant repetition (1310) and the renewal of an agreement; in Anglo-Norman it was used before 1377 for the development of an estate.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In theology, spiritual rebirth: the OED's first example, in the Middle English Northern Pauline Epistles (before 1425), translates Titus 3:5.^[4][6] Etymonline dates the word to about 1400, both in this theological sense and for rebuilding something after decay or damage.^[2] In post-classical Latin renovātiō had also meant spiritual regeneration through baptism, as in the Vulgate.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Alongside the religious sense, the word was used in the 15th century for restoring or renewing anything.^[4][2] Johnson (1755) defined it simply as renewal, the act of renewing or the state of being renewed.^[7] Other uses were the renewal of the body at the Last Judgement (before 1513, now rare)^[4][6] and the resumption of an agreement or state of affairs, later mostly in renovation of peace (1529, now rare).^[4] The sense that is now usual, the repair and improvement of a building, became the main one in the 20th century: the OED notes it as the chief modern use,^[4] and the Historical Thesaurus files the plural, building works, under construction from 1907.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – spiritual rebirth; restoration after decay.^[2]
• a1425 – (theology) spiritual rebirth.^[4]
• ?a1475 – renewal, restoration.^[4]
• a1513 – the renewal of the body at the Last Judgement.^[4]
• 1529 – renewal of an agreement or state of affairs.^[4]
• 1645 – a change made by renewing, in Milton.^[4]
• 1907 – works to repair or improve a building.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of repairing and improving a building or room, or the state of having been renovated: The museum is closed for renovation until the spring.
2. (often plural) The work done to renovate a building: Their renovations took most of the year.
3. Renewal or revival in general; a making new.
4. (theology) Spiritual rebirth; regeneration.

Word family

• reno

Related words

• renovate
• renew
• novel
• innovation
• new

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.