From Middle High German *widerholen*, a compound of *wider* ("again, back") and *holen* ("to fetch, bring"). The sense shifted from physically fetching something back to the more abstract notion of bringing words or actions back into the present — i.e., repeating them. The separable prefix *wieder-* is one of the most productive in German.

In German schools, *wiederholen* carries a specific academic weight: *Stoff wiederholen* ("to review material") is a routine study instruction, and *das Wiederholen* (revision) is considered a core learning strategy. Note the stress falls on the third syllable (*-ho-*), not the first — a common mistake for English speakers who stress *WIEder*.