Rested

How to spell rested

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rested

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rested mean?

1. verbStopped working or moving in order to relax or recover energy.
2. verbLay or leaned on something for support.

Rested in a sentence

• After the long shift she rested for an hour before cooking dinner.

• The ladder rested against the side of the garage.

• The hikers rested at the summit and shared a flask of tea.

• She rested her elbows on the table while reading the report.

Where does rested come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the past tense of the verb 'rest', which descends from the Old English ræstan, meaning 'to repose' or 'to take ease'. That word grew out of the noun ræst or rest, an old Germanic term for a bed, a resting place, or a stretch of repose; close relatives survive in the Dutch rust and the German Rast, both still meaning 'rest' or 'pause'. The earliest sense leaned on the idea of stopping a journey to lie down, and from there it broadened to any kind of ceasing from activity. The familiar second sense, 'to lie or lean upon something for support', developed alongside it, as when a beam rests on a wall. The -ed ending is the regular weak past marker, and because rest ends in a clear consonant cluster the spelling stays wholly predictable, with no doubling and no dropped letters.

How the word is built

• rest (from Old English ræstan: to rest)
• -ed (past tense / past participle suffix)