entry
redeem
/ɹɪˈdiːm/buy back, rescue, or make amends
From Latin re- / red- (back) + Latin emere (to buy).
from Old French redimer "buy back" and directly
from Old French redimer "buy back" and directly
Word Ancestry
from Old French redimer "buy back" and directly
from Old French redimer "buy back" and directly
A Roman creditor didn’t need poetry: if you wanted your mule, your land, or your freedom back, you had to pay for it. That practical little machine — Latin redimere, literally “buy back” — slid into Old French as redimer and then into English around the early 1400s, carrying ransom money in one hand and moral language in the other. Once Christian writers got hold of it, the word started doing double duty: not just recovering property, but rescuing souls, which is why it keeps company with save, deliver, ransom, and even pay. By the 1500s it could mean atone or make amends, and by 1840 it could mean fulfill a promise, as if a broken obligation were something you could purchase back from the wreckage. Tomorrow, remember this: redeem is what happens when buying and rescuing shake hands.
The Story
A Roman creditor didn’t need poetry: if you wanted your mule, your land, or your freedom back, you had to pay for it. That practical little machine — Latin redimere, literally “buy back” — slid into Old French as redimer and then into English around the early 1400s, carrying ransom money in one hand and moral language in the other. Once Christian writers got hold of it, the word started doing double duty: not just recovering property, but rescuing souls, which is why it keeps company with save, deliver, ransom, and even pay. By the 1500s it could mean atone or make amends, and by 1840 it could mean fulfill a promise, as if a broken obligation were something you could purchase back from the wreckage. Tomorrow, remember this: redeem is what happens when buying and rescuing shake hands.
Modern Usage
to cash in a code, voucher, or digital reward; also, to improve one's image after doing something bad
Popularized by: internet voucher-code culture and meme usage, including the 'DO NOT REDEEM' meme
Notable References
- 'DO NOT REDEEM' meme
- streaming clips involving gift-card redemption
Kin & Kindred
From 're- / red-'·back, again; in reverse
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'emere'·to buy, take, acquire
Derived Terms
English words from this root