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réhabilitation

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Etymology and origin of the French word réhabilitation

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1401 Nicolas de Baye, Journal More words from the 15th century
Ultimate origin
Medieval Latin habilitō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French réhabilitation
English rehabilitation

Pronunciation

  • /ʁe.a.bi.li.ta.sjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

réhabilitation f (plural réhabilitations)[1] Older spellings reabilitation (1401) and rehabilitation (16th century).[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French réhabiliter + -ation.[2][4][1] The TLFi compares Medieval Latin rehabilitatio, recorded in the same legal sense in 1439.[2] The verb, recorded from 1234, is formed on habiliter, borrowed from the medieval legal Latin habilitō (“to make fit”).[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Nicolas de Baye's Journal has lettres de reabilitation in 1401, for the act of restoring someone to a state, rights or privileges he had lost.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word followed its verb.[7] It stayed a legal term at first: restoring a bankrupt to his rights (1675, Savary), then a convicted person (1771),[2] while réhabilitation de noblesse is recorded by Richelet in 1680.[6] From 1762, in a letter of Voltaire, it also meant restoring a person or thing to the esteem of others.[2][7]

The sense “renovation” of a district or a building, recorded in Le Monde in 1966, came from English rehabilitation.[2][7] English had taken rehabilitation in the 1530s from both French and Medieval Latin.[8]

Timeline

  • 1234 – The verb reabiliter is recorded.[2][5]
  • 1401 – Lettres de reabilitation in Nicolas de Baye's Journal.[2]
  • 1439 – Medieval Latin rehabilitatio is recorded in the same sense.[2]
  • 1675 – Savary uses it for restoring a bankrupt.[2]
  • 1680 – Richelet records réhabilitation de noblesse.[6]
  • 1762 – Voltaire uses it for restoring someone's good name.[2][7]
  • 1771 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux uses it for restoring a convicted person's rights.[2]
  • 1966 – Le Monde uses it for the renovation of buildings.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (obsolete) Lettres de réhabilitation: letters of ennoblement.[9][3]
  2. (law) Restoration of someone to a former legal position, lifting the forfeitures and incapacities imposed on him, as in réhabilitation du failli.[9][2]
  3. The ending of the effects of a conviction after a trial is reviewed: la réhabilitation de Dreyfus.[9][2]
  4. The restoring or regaining of lost esteem: la réhabilitation d'un peintre oublié.[9][2]
  5. The renovation of a district or building to make it fit to live in.[9][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Réhabilitation.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/r%C3%A9habilitation. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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