Etymologically
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rinse

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Pronunciation

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

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