Repatriation

How to spell repatriation

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce repatriation

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does repatriation mean?

1. nounThe act of returning a person to their country of citizenship or origin.
2. nounThe return of money, profits or assets back to the country of origin.

Repatriation in a sentence

• The embassy arranged the safe repatriation of the stranded tourists.

• The company faced a heavy tax bill on the repatriation of its overseas profits.

• After the war, the repatriation of refugees took several years to complete.

• New rules eased the repatriation of funds held in foreign accounts.

Where does repatriation come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin patria, meaning 'fatherland' or 'native country', which itself grew from pater, the word for 'father'. Late Latin formed the verb repatriare, literally 'to return to one's own country', by adding the prefix re-, meaning 'back', and English took the verb 'repatriate' from this in the early seventeenth century, with the noun 'repatriation' following soon after. The same patria root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'patriot', 'expatriate' and 'paternal', all of which point back to the idea of fathers and homelands. Over time the meaning widened beyond bringing people home: it now covers sending money, profits or even artefacts back to their country of origin. The spelling trap lies in the quiet middle, since the 'patri' is built on father (think 'paternal'), not 'patro' or 'petri', and the long string of unstressed syllables can blur in writing.

How the word is built

• re- (back)
• patri- (from Latin patria: fatherland, native country)
• -ation (noun-forming suffix)