revendre

Forms

revendre^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French re- + vendre.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary also traces Old French revendre to Latin revendō.^[1] The verb vendre is from Latin vendō (“to sell”).^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan revendre, Spanish revender and Italian rivendere.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded about 1190 meaning “to sell what one has bought”; the TLFi's first example, in Guiot de Provins' Bible (about 1200), says of the clergy Achater sevent et revendre “they know how to buy and resell”.^[2][7][5]

Semantic evolution

In the first quarter of the 13th century it also meant “to sell a second time”.^[2] The phrase revendre à la toilette (1718) was used for reselling women's toiletry goods and has gone out of use.^[7] In 1837 slang it meant “to repeat what one has learned from another”.^[7]

The locution avoir à vendre et à revendre (Charles d'Orléans, mid-15th century) gave avoir quelque chose à revendre “to have plenty of it” (16th century).^[2][7] En revendre à quelqu'un “to be more cunning than someone” is found in 1791 and recorded by the Académie in 1798; it is no longer used.^[2][8][7]

Timeline

• c. 1190 – First recorded.^[5][3][7]
• c. 1200 – Guiot de Provins uses it in his Bible.^[2]
• early 13th century – Used for “sell a second time”.^[2]
• 1261 – Recorded in Anglo-Norman as “to resell”.^[9]
• mid-15th century – Charles d'Orléans writes j'en ay à vendre et revendre.^[2][6]
• 1791 – En revendre à quelqu'un appears.^[2][8]
• 1798 – The Académie records the locution avoir d'une chose à revendre.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To resell, to sell what one has bought: revendre son vélo d'occasion.^[4][2][1]
2. To sell retail.^[4]
3. À revendre: in plenty, more than needed: du courage à revendre.^[4][7]

Related words

• vendre
• revendeur
• racheter

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse