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Origin and history of revenant

revenant(n.)

"one who returns," especially after a long absence; "a ghost, one who returns from the dead," 1814 (in "Rosanne" by Laetitia Matilda Hawkins), from French revenant (fem. revenante), noun use of present participle of revenir "to return" (see revenue).

also from 1814

Entries linking to revenant

revenue(n.)

early 15c., "income from property or possessions," from Old French revenue "a return," noun use of fem. past participle of revenir "come back" (10c.), from Latin revenire "return, come back," from re- "back" (see re-) + venire "to come" (from a suffixed form of PIE root *gwa- "to go, come").

The meaning "public income, annual income of a government or state" is recorded from 1680s; revenue sharing was popularized from 1971, the Nixon Administration's policy of returning power to state and local governments by steering federal taxpayer money to them. Revenuer "U.S. Department of Revenue agent," the bane of Appalachian moonshiners, is attested by 1880.

*gwa-

*gwā-, also *gwem-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to go, come."

It might form all or part of: acrobat; adiabatic; advent; adventitious; adventure; amphisbaena; anabasis; avenue; base (n.) "bottom of anything;" basis; become; circumvent; come; contravene; convene; convenient; convent; conventicle; convention; coven; covenant; diabetes; ecbatic; event; eventual; hyperbaton; hypnobate; intervene; intervenient; intervention; invent; invention; inventory; juggernaut; katabatic; misadventure; parvenu; prevenient; prevent; provenance; provenience; revenant; revenue; souvenir; subvention; supervene; venire; venue; welcome.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit gamati "he goes," Avestan jamaiti "goes," Tocharian kakmu "come," Lithuanian gemu, gimti "to be born," Greek bainein "to go, walk, step," Latin venire "to come," Old English cuman "come, approach," German kommen, Gothic qiman.

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    ghost
    Other concepts are in French revenant, literally "returning" (from the other world), Old Norse aptr-ganga, literally "back-comer...
    mortal
    late 14c., "deadly, destructive to life; causing or threatening death" (of illness, poisons, wounds, etc.); also, of persons or the body, "doomed to die, subject to death;" from Old French mortel "destined to die; deserving of death" and directly from Latin mortalis "subject to d
    person
    c. 1200, persoun, "an individual, a human being," from Old French persone "human being, anyone, person" (12c., Modern French personne) and directly from Latin persona "human being, person, personage; a part in a drama, assumed character," originally "a mask, a false face," such a
    soul
    "A substantial entity believed to be that in each person which lives, feels, thinks, and wills" [Century Dictionary], Middle English soule, from Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence; life, living being," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalō (sour
    individual
    early 15c., "one and indivisible, inseparable" (with reference to the Trinity), from Medieval Latin individualis, from Latin individuus "indivisible," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dividuus "divisible," from dividere "divide" (see divide (v.)). Original sense now ob
    somebody
    c. 1300 as two words, from 16c. as one word, "indeterminate person, person unnamed or unknown," from some + body. Used in place of the name of a person whose name is to be unspoken, by c. 1600. The meaning "important person, person of consequence" is from 1560s. Related: Somebodi
    simile
    "a comparison of two things in rhetoric or poetry," late 14c., from Latin simile "a like thing; a comparison, likeness, parallel," neuter of similis "like, resembling, of the same kind" (see similar). They must have notable points in common, both things must be mentioned, and the
    Thursday
    fifth day of the week, Old English þurresdæg, a contraction (perhaps influenced by Old Norse þorsdagr) of þunresdæg, literally "Thor's day," from Þunre, genitive of Þunor "Thor" (see thunder (n.)); from Proto-Germanic *thonaras daga (source also of Old Frisian thunresdei, Middle
    believe
    Middle English bileven, from Old English belyfan "to have faith or confidence" (in a person), earlier geleafa (Mercian), gelefa (Northumbrian), gelyfan (West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic *ga-laubjan "to believe," perhaps literally "hold dear (or valuable, or satisfactory), to love
    nail
    Old English negel "tapering metal pin," nægl "fingernail (handnægl), toenail," from Proto-Germanic *naglaz (source also of Old Norse nagl "fingernail," nagli "metal nail;" Old Saxon and Old High German nagel, Old Frisian neil, Middle Dutch naghel, Dutch nagel, German Nagel "finge

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