Regained

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹiːˈɡeɪnd/

Definitions

1. To have successfully retrieved a possession or capability previously lost
2. To come into possession of something that was previously lost or taken away
3. To recover or reclaim something that had been missing or removed

Etymology: "Regained" is the past tense and past participle of "regain," so the story belongs to the verb itself. "Regain" came into English from Middle French "regaigner," the French descendant of "regagner," which means "to earn back" or "to win again." Its parts are simple: the prefix "re-," meaning "again" or "back," attached to "gain," which in turn came into English through Old French from a Germanic root connected to the idea of profit or advantage. The phrase "to gain" once meant to win or to profit in a fairly literal, material sense, so "regain" carried the idea of getting back what had been taken away. That is why the verb is so naturally used for lost health, lost ground in battle, or a lost crown, rather than for simply acquiring something new.

Synonyms: recovered, retrieved, regained, restored, reclaimed

Antonyms: lost, forfeited, surrendered, abandoned, sacrificed