Reborn

How to spell reborn

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce reborn

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reborn mean?

1. adjectiveBrought back to life, or revived and given a fresh start after a period of decline.

Reborn in a sentence

• After the renovation, the old factory felt reborn as a busy arts centre.

• The struggling brand emerged reborn once new managers took over.

Where does reborn come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a transparent English compound built from the prefix 're-', borrowed from Latin where it meant 'again' or 'back', joined to 'born'. The element 'born' descends from the Old English 'boren', the past participle of 'beran', a native Anglo-Saxon verb meaning 'to carry' and also 'to bring forth a child'. That same ancient root gives us 'bear', 'birth', and 'burden', all sharing the idea of carrying or producing. By the late Middle Ages writers were prefixing 're-' to existing English words to signal repetition, and 'reborn' took shape with the literal sense of being born a second time. Over time it broadened figuratively to describe anything revived, renewed, or given a fresh start, while the spelling stayed pleasingly regular because both parts are still recognisable on their own.

How the word is built

• re- (again)
• born (past participle of the verb 'bear', meaning to bring forth or give birth)