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resupply

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Etymology and origin of the English word resupply

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1579 Geoffrey Fenton's translation of Guicciardini's Historie More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origins
Anglo-Norman re-Old French soupleer
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English supply
English resupply
From the same root
English supplier ← supply

Pronunciation

  • /ˌɹiː.səˈplaɪ/, /ˈɹiː.səˌplaɪ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + supply.[2][3][4][5] The OED compares Middle French resupplier, recorded once, in 1411.[2] The noun is partly formed from re- and the noun supply, and partly a conversion of the verb.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To supply again, to provide with a fresh supply: 1579, in Geoffrey Fenton's translation of Guicciardini's Historie, where the noun, a fresh supply, is also first found.[2]

Semantic evolution

The revised OED (2010) moved both the verb and the noun back to 1579; the 1989 edition of the OED had dated the verb to 1636 and the noun to 1875,[2][6] and Etymonline likewise gives the 1630s for the verb and 1875 for the noun.[3] The verb was also used intransitively, for taking on a fresh supply.[2] In modern use it is above all a military word, for providing troops in action with fresh weapons, ammunition and other matériel.[4][7]

Timeline

  • 1579 – verb, to supply again; noun, a fresh supply or the act of resupplying.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To supply again, or provide with fresh supplies, especially a military force in action with ammunition and matériel: Helicopters resupplied the outpost twice a week.[4][7][8]
  2. To take on a fresh supply.[2]

Noun

  1. The act or a system of resupplying; a fresh supply.[4][2]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Resupply.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/resupply. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·