Regain

How to spell regain

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce regain

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does regain mean?

1. verbTo get back or recover something that was lost, taken, or given up.

Regain in a sentence

• After weeks of rest she began to regain her strength.

• The troops fought hard to regain the lost ground.

Where does regain come from?

Language of origin: French

This verb came into English in the early sixteenth century from the French regagner, which combined the prefix re-, meaning 'again' or 'back', with gagner, meaning 'to win', 'to earn', or 'to obtain'. The French gagner itself traces back through Old French to a Germanic source connected to hunting, foraging, and grazing for profit, so the earliest flavour of the word was about acquiring something of value. The English compound 'gain', borrowed separately, supplied the familiar second half, and the obvious sense of getting something once more sat naturally on top of it. From the start regain has meant to recover or get back something that was held and then lost, whether ground in a battle, a lost lead, or one's composure. The spelling is mercifully transparent because it simply welds the common prefix re- onto the everyday word gain, with no doubled letters or silent traps to catch the writer.

How the word is built

• re- (again, back)
• gain (to obtain, win)