Etymology

deraign

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Today it means: To prove or refute, especially through combat. Full definition →

Middle English dereynen ← Old French deraisnier ← Late Latin derationare
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The story

  1. Late Latin · derived fromderationare“to discourse, contend in law”
  2. Old French · derived fromderaisnier“to explain, defend, to maintain in legal action by proof and reasonings”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromdereynen
  4. English todayderaign

Inherited from Middle English dereynen, from Old French deraisnier (“to explain, defend, to maintain in legal action by proof and reasonings”), from Late Latin derationare (“to discourse, contend in law”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.