Reest

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. To establish or settle again in a previous place or condition; to reinstate or restore something to its former state; to resume an activity or status after interruption
2. To set up or plant anew in an original location or context; to reintroduce or bring back into use; to continue or pick up again after a pause
3. To place or position once more in the same area or role; to revive or reinstate something previously discontinued; to start again or resume after disruption

Etymology: The word "reest" is simply an older spelling of "rest" in its sense of settling again, restoring, or resuming. Its spelling is the key to its story: the sense of reinstating something to a former state comes from the Latin verb "restare," which means "to stay back" or "to remain," and "re-" plus "stare" ("to stand"). That Latin root passed into Old French as "rester," meaning "to remain," and English borrowed it in the Middle English period as "reste," which pushed aside the native Old English word "lave," meaning "remainder." Ironically, "rest" as a word for repose has an entirely separate lineage. It descends from Old English "ræst," a native word whose Germanic relatives include Dutch "rust" and German "Rast," all meaning a pause or repose. The two strands, one native and one borrowed, merged in English, so that "rest" came to cover both the idea of stopping and the idea of what remains.

Synonyms: resin, sap, pitch, gum, tar