entry
renaissance
/rɪˈnæsəns/revival of art, learning, culture, or activity
From Latin re- (again) + Latin nasci (be born).
from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget"). An earlier term for it was revival of learning (1785). In general usage,...
from Latin renasci "be born again, rise again, reappear, be renewed,"
from French renaissance
+1 more sourcefrom French renaissance
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget"). An earlier term for it was revival of learning (1785). In general usage,...
from Latin renasci "be born again, rise again, reappear, be renewed,"
from French renaissance
+1 more sourcefrom French renaissance
+1 more sourcePicture a European scholar opening a dusty manuscript and deciding that the ancient world has not vanished after all: it can be born again. That is the literal machinery inside renaissance—Latin re- meaning “again” joined to nasci, “to be born,” from the reconstructed PIE root *gene-, the same family behind generate and genealogy. The French expression renaissance des lettres helped name the cultural movement centered first in Florence and spreading across Europe; English recorded Renaissance in 1840. By the late nineteenth century, Renaissance man had escaped its historical cage and could describe a modern person with many talents, from scholarship to art. So Renaissance is not merely a period on a timeline—it is a linguistic resurrection, with every revival carrying a tiny echo of birth.
The Story
Picture a European scholar opening a dusty manuscript and deciding that the ancient world has not vanished after all: it can be born again. That is the literal machinery inside renaissance—Latin re- meaning “again” joined to nasci, “to be born,” from the reconstructed PIE root *gene-, the same family behind generate and genealogy. The French expression renaissance des lettres helped name the cultural movement centered first in Florence and spreading across Europe; English recorded Renaissance in 1840. By the late nineteenth century, Renaissance man had escaped its historical cage and could describe a modern person with many talents, from scholarship to art. So Renaissance is not merely a period on a timeline—it is a linguistic resurrection, with every revival carrying a tiny echo of birth.
Kin & Kindred
From 're-'·again, back, anew
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'nasci'·be born
Derived Terms
English words from this root