Etymologically
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revisit

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Pronunciation

  • /ɹiːˈvɪzɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English revisiten,[2] partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman revisiter (“to visit again”) and Middle French revisiter,[3][4][5] and partly formed from English re- + visit.[3][6] The Middle English Dictionary and Etymonline also name Latin revīsitō as a source.[2][4] The French verb is formed from re- and visiter (“to visit”),[3][7] which goes back to Latin vīsitō (“to go to see”), a frequentative of vīsō (“to look at, go to see”), from videō (“to see”).[8][3] In Old French it is recorded once in the second half of the 12th century, of a doctor visiting a sick person;[3] Anglo-Norman used it from the 12th century for visiting again, visiting to comfort or punish, and inspecting.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To visit a place again: before 1500, in a Middle English Legend of the Cross.[2][3] Etymonline dates it to about 1500.[4]

Semantic evolution

From 1525, in Lord Berners's translation of Froissart, the verb could also mean "to revise, re-examine", a sense that died out in the early 18th century.[3] Johnson (1755) gave only "to visit again", quoting Milton and Pope's Statius.[9] The noun, a second or later visit, was formed from visit after the verb and is first recorded in 1623.[3][6] Since 1819 the verb has also been used figuratively, of returning to a subject or a period to look at it again,[3] and Collins gives this re-examining of a topic with a fresh view as a current sense.[10] The past participle often follows a noun, especially in the titles of books.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1500 – to visit again, to return to a place or person.[3][2] Etymonline dates it c. 1500.[4]
  • 1525 – to revise, re-examine, in Lord Berners's translation of Froissart (obsolete by 1712).[3]
  • 1623 – noun, a second or further visit, in a letter of John Chamberlain.[3][6]
  • 1737 – intransitive, to make another visit (rare).[3]
  • 1819 – figurative, to return to a subject and take a fresh look at it.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To visit a place or person again; to return to: They revisited the town where they had met.[10][6][3]
  2. To return to a topic, idea or decision after a time in order to look at it afresh: The committee agreed to revisit the question next year.[10][3]
  3. (obsolete, 1525–1712) To re-examine or inspect again; to revise.[6][3]

Noun

  1. A second or later visit.[6][3]

Word family

  • revisitation

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 l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins