Etymologically
Log in

resent

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 20:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ɹiˈzɛnt/, /ɹɪˈzɛnt/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French resentir (now ressentir), also borrowed from Anglo-Norman resenter,[2][3][4] from Old French resentir (“to feel again, feel in turn”),[5][6][7] formed from re-, here an intensive prefix, and sentir (“to feel”),[5][8][9] from Latin sentiō (“to feel, perceive”).[6][8][10] In French the verb meant to feel in sympathy with someone, to feel the effects of something, and since 1558 to remember something with resentment.[2] It is related to sense, sentiment and scent.[9][11][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To feel something deeply or sharply, or as a cause of sorrow: 1595, in a letter of King James VI to Elizabeth I.[2][12] Barnhart's first record is from 1605, for feeling pain or distress.[7][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th and 18th centuries resent could mean to feel any strong emotion, good or bad: to feel sorrow or joy, to take something well or ill, to regret, and even to remember gratefully.[9][2][12] Boyle wrote in 1648 that God "resents an infinite satisfaction" in his own will.[9] Johnson (1755) still gave "to take well or ill" as the first sense.[13] The modern sense, to feel injured or aggrieved by something, appears in 1612,[2] or 1628–29 according to Barnhart,[7] and gradually pushed out all the others.[9][8] Weekley, quoting Trench, explained this by people's sense of injuries being stronger and more lasting than their sense of benefits.[14] In Scots the old sense "to appreciate, applaud" lasted longer.[15]

Timeline

  • 1595 – to feel something deeply, as a cause of sorrow (obsolete by 1670).[2]
  • 1605 – reflexive, to feel pain or distress (obsolete by 1654).[2][7]
  • 1612 – to feel injured or aggrieved by something; also to avenge (obsolete).[2]
  • 1613 – to feel or experience an emotion (obsolete by 1770).[2]
  • 1618 – to regret an action (obsolete).[2]
  • 1628–29 – to feel angry at a wrong or insult, in Barnhart.[7]
  • 1755 – Johnson's first sense: to take well or ill.[13]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To feel bitter, indignant or aggrieved about something or someone: He resented being left out of the meeting.[10][12][2]
  2. (obsolete, 1595–1670) To feel something deeply, as a cause of sorrow.[2][3]
  3. (obsolete, 1613–1770) To feel or experience an emotion.[2][3][12]

Word family

  • resentingly
  • resentive
  • unresented
  • unresenting
  • resentful

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  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. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  12. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  13. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  15. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)