rinse

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English rincen, also rinsen,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French rincier, a variant of raincier and reincier,^[2][5][3][4] now rincer.^[6][7] The Anglo-Norman forms, ryncer and rincer, are recorded from the early 13th century, meaning to wash, to rinse and to clear land.^[8][6] The usual explanation, which the OED, Etymonline, Barnhart and Klein accept with some reserve, takes the French verb as a variant, perhaps dissimilated, of recincier (late 12th century),^[6][3][5][4] from Vulgar Latin *recentiō (“to make fresh, to renew; to wash, cleanse with water”),^{[3][4][5][9][10]} which the OED finds in a 13th-century British source, beside Late Latin recentō (“to refresh, renew”) (6th century),^[6][4] from Latin recēns (“fresh, new, recent”), the source of recent.^[6][9][11] Hoad, the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English call its ultimate origin unknown.^[12][7][13] Weekley preferred a derivation from quinquō (“to purify”), with allusion to the five-year periods between purifications, and dismissed the medieval Latin spellings recincerō and resincerō as attempts to link the word with sincērus (“pure”).^[14] The likeness to Old Norse hreinsa (“to cleanse”), Swedish rensa and Danish rense is probably accidental according to the OED,^[6][3] though Wiktionary records the view that the French verb comes from the Norse one, from Proto-Germanic *hrainisōną (“to clean, purify”).^[1] Johnson derived it from German rein (“pure, clear”).^[15]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of a priest, to clean the chalice and the fingers with wine and water after the Eucharist: in the Lay Folks Mass Book (manuscript before 1400, text perhaps about 1300).^[6][7] Etymonline likewise dates the verb to about 1300, originally in the liturgy, and finds it in the surname Rinsfet from the mid 13th century;^[3] the OED records Willelmus Rinsfet in 1240.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb was used of rinsing a cup or other container by swirling water in it and of the priest's purifying of the chalice;^[2][6] a sense "to clear land of crops", shared with Anglo-Norman, did not last.^[6][8][7] The general sense of washing out a cup or bowl is recorded from 1440,^[6][3] cleaning the mouth from about 1500,^[6] and rinsing laundry in clean water from 1530, in Palsgrave;^[6][3] the specific idea of removing the soap left after washing is recorded from 1821.^[6] Johnson (1755) defined it as to wash or cleanse by washing, and to wash the soap out of clothes.^[15] The noun, an act of rinsing, appeared in 1837, one of the first records being in Dickens's Pickwick Papers;^{[6][3][5][10]} the Middle English noun had been rincinge.^[3] A rinse for the hair, to condition or tint it, is recorded from 1928.^[6][3] In Scotland a rinse was also a bundle of heather twigs for scouring pots (from 1738),^[6][7][16] and in Fife rinse down meant to wash food down with drink.^[16] Australian prison and later British slang gave the verb sexual senses from the late 20th century.^[17]

Timeline

• 1240 – in the surname Rinsfet.^[6]
• c. 1300 – of a priest, to cleanse the chalice after the Eucharist.^[6][3]
• 1440 – to wash out a cup or bowl with clean water.^[6]
• c. 1500 – to clean the mouth with water.^[6]
• 1530 – to rinse laundry in clean water.^[6]
• 1738 – Scottish, noun, a bundle of heather twigs for scouring pots.^[6]
• 1821 – to remove soap or detergent with clean water.^[6]
• 1837 – noun, an act of rinsing.^[6][10][5]
• 1888 – noun, a mouthwash.^[6]
• 1928 – noun, a preparation for tinting or conditioning the hair.^[6][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To wash something lightly with clean water, especially to remove soap after washing: Rinse the shirts in cold water before hanging them up.^[18][10][6]
2. To clean the mouth, a glass or a container by swirling water in it and pouring it out.^[10][6]
3. To remove dirt or soap by rinsing, often with off or out.^[6][10]
4. To give a light tint to the hair.^[18][10]

Noun

1. The act of rinsing: Give the lettuce a quick rinse.^[18][10][6]
2. A liquid used for rinsing, such as a mouthwash.^[10][6]
3. A preparation put on the hair to condition it or give it a temporary colour, as in a blue rinse.^[18][10][6]

Word family

• rinsable
• rinser
• prerinse
• unrinsed

Related words

• recent
• rinsing

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
9. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
11. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
12. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
15. ^ 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.
16. ^ a b 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)
17. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
18. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins