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répéter

Etymology and origin of the French word répéter

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1210, Raoul de Houdenc, Meraugis
Borrowed from
Latin repeto
Ultimate origin
Latin (petō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin repeto
French répéter

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁe.pe.te/[1]

Forms

répéter[1] Spelled repeter by the Académie in 1694 and 1718, répéter since 1740.[2] An Old French popular form, repeïr, meant to read a psalm a second time (about 1200).[3][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin repetō (“to seek again; to resume; to recall; to claim back”), from re- and petō (“to seek to reach, to ask for”) (compare pétition).[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary takes it as inherited, through Old French “repeter”.[1]

Cognate with Old Occitan repetir, Spanish repetir and Italian ripetere.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in Raoul de Houdenc's Meraugis (about 1210), has the sense “to say again”, which is still its main one.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Like the Latin verb it meant “to claim back” from about 1360, a sense that survives in law for reclaiming what one has paid or lent (1626).[2][3] Répéter une leçon “to revise” is in Palsgrave (1530); in the theatre, to rehearse is in Molière's Impromptu de Versailles (1663).[2][3] It meant to do again what one had done (La Fontaine, 1682), to coach pupils in a teacher's lesson (1660), and, pejoratively, to pass on what one has heard (1798).[2] The reflexive se répéter, to use the same turns of phrase, is in Fontenelle (1693).[2] In mountaineering, to repeat a climb is recorded from 1903.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – Popular Old French repeïr.[2]
  • c. 1210 – Repeter “to say again”, Meraugis.[2]
  • c. 1360 – “To claim back”.[2]
  • 1530 – Répéter une leçon, Palsgrave.[2]
  • 1663 – Rehearsing a play, Molière.[2]
  • 1682 – “To do again”, La Fontaine.[2]
  • 1693 – Se répéter, Fontenelle.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To repeat, say again (what one or another has said): je vous répète que c'est impossible.[8][9]
  2. To pass on, report (what one has heard).[2][3]
  3. To do again; to reproduce: répéter une expérience.[2][9]
  4. To rehearse (a play, a piece); to go over (a lesson).[1][2]
  5. Se répéter: to repeat oneself; to happen again.[1][2]
  6. (law) To claim back.[3][2]

Word family

  • répétition
  • répéteur
  • répétiteur

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 t 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 c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 266a
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Répéter.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/r%C3%A9p%C3%A9ter. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·