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Origin and history of reprise

reprise(n.)

late 14c., "yearly deduction from charges upon a manor or estate," from Old French reprise "act of taking back" (13c.), fem. of repris, past participle of reprendre "take back," from Latin reprendere "pull back, hold back" (see reprehend). The meaning "resumption of an action" is attested from 1680s. The musical sense of "a repeated passage, act of repeating a passage" is by 1879.

reprise(v.)

early 15c., reprisen, "begin (an activity) again," from Old French repris, past participle of reprendre, from Latin reprehendere "to blame, censure, rebuke; seize, restrain," literally "pull back, hold back" (see reprehend). Obsolete in this sense; the modern meaning "repeat a (theatrical, musical, etc.) performance" is by 1965, perhaps a new formation from the verb. Related: Reprised; reprising.

Entries linking to reprise

"to blame, censure, rebuke, reproach, charge with a fault," mid-14c., reprehenden, from Latin reprehendere "to blame, censure, rebuke; seize, restrain," literally "pull back, hold back," from re- "back" (see re-) + prehendere "to grasp, seize" (from prae- "before," see pre-, + -hendere, from PIE root *ghend- "to seize, take").

1570s, reprive, "take back to prison," alteration (perhaps by influence of reprove) of Middle English repryen "to remand, detain" (late 15c.), probably from French repris, past participle of reprendre "take back" (see reprise). Meaning "to suspend an impending execution" is recorded from 1590s; this sense evolved probably because being sent back to prison was the alternative to execution. Spelling with -ie- is from 1640s, perhaps by analogy of achieve, etc. Related: Reprieved; reprieving.

also *ghed-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to seize, to take." 

It might form all or part of: apprehend; apprentice; apprise; beget; comprehend; comprehension; comprehensive; comprise; depredate; depredation; emprise; enterprise; entrepreneur; forget; get; guess; impresario; misprision; osprey; predatory; pregnable; prehensile; prehension; prey; prison; prize (n.2) "something taken by force;" pry (v.2) "raise by force;" reprehend; reprieve; reprisal; reprise; spree; surprise.

It might also be the source of: Greek khandanein "to hold, contain;" Lithuanian godėtis "be eager;" second element in Latin prehendere "to grasp, seize;" Welsh gannu "to hold, contain;" Russian za-gadka "riddle;" Old Norse geta "to obtain, reach; to be able to; to beget; to learn; to be pleased with;" Albanian gjen "to find."

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