Restored

How to spell restored

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce restored

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does restored mean?

1. verbBrought something back to its original or former condition, ownership, or position.

Restored in a sentence

• The specialists carefully restored the old painting to its former colours.

• The company restored full pay after the dispute was settled.

Where does restored come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past tense of 'restore', which English took from the Old French verb restorer in the early 1300s. That French word descended from the Latin restaurare, built from the prefix re-, meaning 'back' or 'again', and the root staurare, meaning 'to set up' or 'to establish'. The original sense was practical and physical: to rebuild something that had fallen down or to put something back into its former condition. Over the centuries the meaning broadened to cover bringing back health, returning property to an owner, and reinstating a person to a position or rank. The same Latin staurare lies hidden inside 'restaurant', which literally meant a place serving food that 'restores' you, a useful link that reminds writers the word is built on 'store', not 'stoar'.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• stor (from Latin staurare: to set up, establish)
• -ed (past tense suffix)