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Origin and history of *re-

*re-

*rē-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to reason, count;" a variant of PIE root *ar-, also arə-, "to fit together." 

It might form all or part of: Alfred; arraign; arithmetic; Conrad; dread; Eldred; Ethelred; hatred; hundred; kindred; logarithm; Ralph; rate (n.) "estimated value or worth;" rathskeller; ratify; ratio; ration; read; reason; rede; rhyme; riddle (n.1) "word-game;" rite; ritual.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit radh- "to succeed, accomplish;" Greek arithmos "number, amount;" Latin reri "to consider, confirm, ratify," ritus "rite, religious custom;" Old Church Slavonic raditi "to take thought, attend to;" Old Irish im-radim "to deliberate, consider;" Old English rædan "to advise, counsel, persuade; read;" Old English, Old High German rim "number;" Old Irish rim "number," dorimu "I count."

Entries linking to *re-

Alfred

masc. proper name, Old English Ælfræd, literally "elf-counsel," from ælf (see elf) + ræd "counsel" (see rede). Alfred the Great was king of the West Saxons 871-899. Related: Alfredian (1814).

arithmetic(n.)

"art of computation, the most elementary branch of mathematics," mid-13c., arsmetike, from Old French arsmetique (12c.), from Latin arithmetica, from Greek arithmetikē (tekhnē) "(the) counting (art)," fem. of arithmetikos "of or for reckoning, arithmetical," from arithmos "number, counting, amount" (from PIE *erei-dhmo-, suffixed variant form of root *re- "to reason, count").

The form arsmetrik was based on folk-etymology derivation from Medieval Latin ars metrica; the spelling was corrected early 16c. in English (though arsmetry is attested from 1590s) and French. The native formation in Old English was tælcræft, literally "tell-craft."

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arraign
late 14c., araynen, "to call to account," also "to call up on a criminal charge," from Old French araisnier "speak to, address; accuse (in a law court)," from Vulgar Latin *arrationare, from Latin adrationare, from ad "to" (see ad-) + *rationare, from ratio "argumentation; reckon
dread
late 12c., "to fear very much, be in shrinking apprehension or expectation of," a shortening of Old English adrædan, contraction of ondrædan "counsel or advise against," also "to dread, fear, be afraid," from ond-, and- "against" (the same first element in answer, from PIE root *
hundred
"1 more than ninety-nine, ten times ten; the number which is one more than ninety-nine; a symbol representing this number;" Old English hundred "the number of 100, a counting of 100," from Proto-Germanic *hunda-ratha- (source also of Old Frisian hundred, Old Saxon hunderod, Old N
reinforce
also re-enforce, "add new force, strength, or weight to," c. 1600, originally in military sense, from re- "again" + inforce..., variant of enforce "drive by physical force; fortify, strengthen" (compare re-enforce, and see en- (1))....For that sense re-enforce should be used. [Fowler]...
rally
into order again by urgent effort," c. 1600, from French rallier, from Old French ralier "reassemble, unite again," from re...- "again" (see re-) + alier "unite" (see ally (v.))....In Old French (and Italian), re- often appeared as ra- by confusion with the true ra- (from Latin re- + ad-), and the following...But as ra- was not recognized in English as a prefix, words with ra- in Old French usually returned to re- in English; Rally...
refund
refondre "restore" and directly from Latin refundere "give back, restore, return," literally "pour back, flow back," from re...- "back" (see re-) + fundere "to pour" (from nasalized form of PIE root *gheu- "to pour")....Century Dictionary speculates that Old French refounder in the sense "restore" was confused with refonder, refunder, "re-establish...
repose
"to put, place," mid-15c., reposen, "to put (something) back;" perhaps from re- "back, again" + pose (v.) or so formed in...Latin repos-, infinitive stem of reponere "put back, set back, replace, restore; put away, lay out, stretch out," from re...
revelation
c. 1300, revelacioun, "disclosure of information or knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency," from Old French revelacion and directly from Latin revelationem (nominative revelatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of revelare "unveil, uncover, lay bare" (see
dance
c. 1300, dauncen, "move the body or feet rhythmically to music," from Old French dancier (12c., Modern French danser), which is of unknown origin, perhaps from Low Frankish *dintjan and akin to Old Frisian dintje "tremble, quiver." Through French influence in arts and society, it
federal
1640s, as a theological term (in reference to "covenants" between God and man), from French fédéral, an adjective formed from Latin foedus (genitive foederis) "covenant, league, treaty, alliance" (from PIE *bhoid-es-, suffixed form of root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade").

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