repeat

Where does the word "repeat" come from? It comes from Latin repetere, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).

Repeat’s story begins in Latin: repetere meant “to seek again, to do again.” To seek again, to do again, from re- (again) and petere (to seek). By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as repeter. Carried into French for saying or doing something again. It reached English by 1300s as repeat. Settled as the English word for saying or doing something again. Today, repeat means to say or do something again.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient repetere "to seek again, to do again", to seek again, to do again, from re- (again) and petere (to seek).
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval repeter "to say or do something again", carried into French for saying or doing something again.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1300s repeat "to say or do something again", settled as the English word for saying or doing something again.