English
repent
Repent comes from Old French repentir ‘to repent’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ‘to hate, hurt’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₁-‘to hate, hurt’root as named
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaeniteoas paenitēre‘to cause (someone) to regret or repent’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpaenitīre‘regret, repent’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*repaenitīre‘regret, repent’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400repentir‘to repent’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500repenten
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485repent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₁-‘to hate, hurt’root as named
- Classical Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpaeniteoas paenitēre‘to cause (someone) to regret or repent’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEpaenitīre‘regret, repent’
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*repaenitīre‘regret, repent’reconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400repentir‘to repent’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500repenten
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485repent
Earliest quotation: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “at that time she wolde nat, she seyde, for…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- ‘to hate, hurt’
patient, passionate, passive, patience, compatible, compassion, fend, fiend, penitential, 9 more
through Classical Latin paeniteo ‘to cause (someone) to regret or repent’
Another origin of repent
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁reh₁p-‘to creep’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*rēpōreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErēpō‘to creep’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErēpēns‘creeping, crawling’present participle of rēpō
- Englishtodayrepent
Today it means
verb To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of".
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₁- / repent