Etymology

repent

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Today it means: To feel pain, sorrow, or regret for what one has done or omitted to do; the cause for repenting may be indicated with "of". Full definition →

Middle English repenten ← Old French repentir ← Vulgar Latin *repaenitīre
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repent · verb1

  1. Classical Latin · derived frompaenitēre
  2. Late Latin · derived frompaenitīre
  3. Vulgar Latin · derived from*repaenitīre
  4. Old French · derived fromrepentir
  5. Middle English · inherited fromrepenten
  6. English todayrepent

From Middle English repenten, from Old French repentir, from Vulgar Latin *repaenitīre, from Late Latin paenitīre, from Classical Latin paenitēre. Compare Modern French repentir.

repent · adjective2

  1. Latin · derived fromrēpēns
  2. English todayrepent

From Latin rēpēns, present participle of rēpō (“to creep”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.