English
re
Re comes from Latin rēs ‘thing, matter, topic’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *reh₁ís ‘wealth, goods’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*reh₁ís‘wealth’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reis‘thing’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs‘thing’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErēablative of rēs
- Englishearliest quotation 2020re
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*reh₁ís‘wealth’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*reis‘thing’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēs‘thing’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErēablative of rēs
- Englishearliest quotation 2020re
Earliest quotation: 2020, HarryBlank, SCP-5243: “I know it's been a long haul, but can…”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *reis ‘thing, matter’
reality, realise, realisation, 17 more
through Latin rēs ‘thing, matter, topic’
Another origin of re
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*swenh₂-‘to sound’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*swonh₂éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*swonaō‘to sound, resound’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsonō‘make a noise, sound, resound’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEresonōas resonāre‘made to resound’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500re‘second degree or note of Guido of Arezzo's hexachordal scales’
- Englishtodaysame form
Today it means
prep About, regarding, with reference to; used especially in letters, documents, emails and case law.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.