Etymologically
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repent

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Pronunciation

  • /ɹɪˈpɛnt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English repenten,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Old French repentir, with the Anglo-Norman variant repenter,[6][3][7][8] which is formed from re-, probably intensive here, and pentir (“to be sorry”),[8][9][3][10][4] from Vulgar Latin *paenitiō (“to regret”), an altered form of Latin paeniteō (“to make sorry, to be sorry”).[7][8][10][11] The OED instead derives the French verb from Medieval Latin repoeniteō (9th century), formed from re- and the same Latin verb.[6] Etymonline connects the Latin verb with poena (“penalty”),[3] while Weekley took it to be cognate with paene (“almost”).[11] In Anglo-Norman the verb is recorded from 1113–19 for repenting of sin and for regretting;[12] in French it was first reflexive, to renounce something or to feel contrition (about 1100), and it is now only reflexive.[6][11] Related Romance verbs are Spanish arrepentirse, Portuguese arrepender and Italian ripentirsi.[6] It is related to penitent and penitence.[10][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To feel contrition or regret for what one has done, especially for sin: about 1300, in the life of Saint Brendan in the South English Legendary, and reflexively in the same years.[6][3] Barnhart dates the sense "to regret, be sorry" to probably before 1300, in Kyng Alisaunder.[7]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English repent covered both religious contrition and ordinary regret: from about 1380 it was used of anything one regrets for its unwelcome consequences.[6][2] It was also used impersonally from about 1300, as in it repenteth me,[3][6] which the King James Bible keeps in Genesis 6:6, "And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth".[3] Chaucer used the verb 43 times.[13] Weekley notes that the reflexive repent oneself was the usual construction in the Authorized Version, and that the borrowing has nearly displaced the native rue.[11] A noun repent, repentance, was used from 1573 to 1601, as in Spenser's "Reproch the first, Shame next, Repent behinde".[6][14] Spenser also used the verb for "to mourn" (1590).[6] Etymonline stresses that to repent is to regret so deeply as to change one's mind or conduct.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – to feel contrition or regret for one's actions or sins; also reflexive.[6][3]
  • before 1325 – transitive, with the sin or fault as object.[6]
  • c. 1380 – to regret something because of its consequences.[6][2]
  • before 1393 – to cause someone to feel regret, chiefly as it repents me, in Gower.[6]
  • 1573 – noun, repentance (obsolete by 1601).[6]
  • 1590 – to mourn, in Spenser (obsolete).[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To feel sincere regret and remorse for one's wrongdoing, especially to turn from sin and resolve to change one's life: He repented of his cruelty before he died.[4][15][6]
  2. To feel sorry for or regret (an action): She soon repented her hasty reply.[15][6][4]
  3. To regret a choice or act because of its unwelcome results.[6][2]
  4. To cause (someone) to feel regret, usually with it as subject: it repents me.[6][3]
  5. (archaic) Reflexive, repent oneself: to feel contrition.[14][6]

Noun

  1. (obsolete, 1573–1601) Repentance.[6][14]

Word family

  • repenter
  • repentingly
  • unrepented
  • unrepenting
  • penance
  • penitence
  • penitent
  • penitentiary
  • repentance
  • repentant
  • penal

Usage notes

Etymonline notes that many modern languages distinguish regret from repent, but that older periods did not: to repent is to regret so deeply that one changes one's mind or way of life.[3] The proverb marry in haste, repent at leisure keeps the ordinary sense of regret.[4]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  10. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ a b c d Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  12. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  13. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  14. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  15. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins