Redound

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have an effect or consequence that contributes to a result or outcome; to reflect or come back as an influence or benefit; to accumulate as an effect or result in consequence
2. To produce an effect or result that ultimately contributes to a situation; to return as an influence or gain; to add or contribute in a way that reflects upon something
3. To result in a particular consequence often beneficial or adverse; to revert back as an influence or advantage; to have an impact that adds to an overall outcome or effect

Etymology: Latin "redundare" meant "to overflow" or "to surge back," built from "red-" (back) and "undare" (to surge), which came from "unda," a wave. The image is literal water flooding over and spilling back. A wave that rolls up a beach and returns to the sea is the picture behind the word. The word moved from the physical to the abstract in French and English. Anglo-Norman "redunder" and Middle French "redonder" kept the sense of overflowing, and English took the word up with that watery meaning before it came to describe something spilling over in a non-physical way. From there the sense shifted to effects that flow back onto a person or thing, so that a success might redound to a manager's credit. The modern senses all grow from that single idea of something surging back. An action sends its effects back toward whoever set it going, and the outcome that results is the same flow arriving at its destination.

Synonyms: result, contribute, reflect, accrue, revert

Antonyms: detract, reduce, harm, lessen