Etymologically
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reprendre

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.pʁɑ̃dʁ/[1]

Forms

reprendre[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin reprendō (“to hold back, check; to blame, censure”), the contracted form of reprehendō, from re- and prehendō (“to seize”).[2][3][4][5] For some of its senses, especially “to take again”, it is better seen as a French formation from re- and prendre, whose meanings it followed.[6][7][3]

Compare Occitan reprendre, Spanish reprender and Italian riprendere.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1119 in Philippe de Thaon's Comput, meaning “to correct”; about 1165 Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it for “to blame”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense “to censure” came first, and is kept in the literary reprendre quelqu'un.[2][3] The iterative “to take again” appears about 1140 (Voyage de Charlemagne), with reprendre son haleine (about 1200) and reprendre la parole (Jean de Meun, 1269–1278); reprendre un prisonnier “to recapture” dates from 1538.[2][3][9] About 1155 it meant “to resume something interrupted”, and in 1170–1183 “to begin again” (a war); reprendre la route is from 1817.[3][2]

Of a plant, reprendre “to take root again” is in Chrétien de Troyes (1176).[2] Other uses include taking back goods (1538), reviving a play (before 1778), on ne m'y reprendra plus (1835) and, recently, covering another artist's song.[9][3][1] The noun reprise dates from about 1200.[4]

Timeline

  • 1119 – “To correct”, in Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • c. 1140 – “To take again”, in the Voyage de Charlemagne.[2]
  • c. 1165 – “To blame”, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[2]
  • 1176 – Of plants, “to take root again”, in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • c. 1200 – Reprendre son haleine; the noun reprise.[2][4]
  • 1538 – Reprendre un prisonnier.[9]
  • 1640 – “To go on speaking after a pause”, in Oudin.[10]
  • 1835 – On ne m'y reprendra plus.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To take again; to take back, recover: reprendre sa place, reprendre son bien.[7][1]
  2. To take more of: reprendre du dessert.[1]
  3. To recapture: reprendre une ville.[1]
  4. To regain: reprendre courage, reprendre connaissance, reprendre son souffle.[7][11]
  5. To resume, continue after an interruption: reprendre le travail.[1][3]
  6. (intransitive) To start again; of business, to pick up; to go on speaking.[1][10]
  7. To reprimand, correct: reprendre un élève.[1][2]
  8. To alter (a garment); to repeat, take up (an idea); to cover (a song).[7][1]
  9. Se reprendre: to correct oneself; to pull oneself together.[1][10]

Word family

  • reprise
  • prendre
  • répréhensible
  • répréhension
  • repreneur

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 272b
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)