reunion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌriːˈjuː.njən/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from re- and union, or taken from French réunion (1540s),^[2][3][4] from réunir (“to reunite”).^[3] The NODE also allows Anglo-Latin Medieval Latin reūniō.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of coming together again: 1576 in Merriam-Webster, about 1600 in Etymonline, 1610 in the OED.^[4][2][6]

Semantic evolution

People meeting again after a separation is from 1703,^[6] and a social gathering of people with a past connection from 1820.^[6][2] In this sense it was often written in the French form, réunion, from 1835.^[6]

Timeline

• 1576 – reunion.^[4]
• 1703 – meeting again after separation.^[6]
• 1820 – a social gathering.^[6][2]
• 1835 – réunion (French form).^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of coming together again.
2. The state of being reunited.
3. A gathering of relatives, friends or former associates.

Word family

• reunionist

Related words

• reunite
• union
• unite

Usage notes

The island of Réunion was given the name in 1793, during the French Revolution, in memory of the union in 1792 of revolutionaries from Marseille with the National Guard in Paris.^[2]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press