reprendre
/ʁəˈpʁɑ̃dʁ/
Definition
To take back, start again, or continue something after a pause. It can also mean to correct someone gently.
Example
Il reprend le travail après ses vacances.
Show translation
He goes back to work after his holidays.
Etymology
From Old French *reprendre*, from Latin *reprehendere* ("to seize back, to check"), composed of *re-* (again) + *prehendere* (to grasp). The same Latin root gives English "reprehend" and "apprehend." Over time the meaning broadened from a physical "grabbing back" to the figurative senses of resuming or correcting.
Cultural note
*Reprendre* is extremely versatile in everyday French. *La reprise* (the noun form) is widely used for the return to school or work after summer — French media regularly use headlines like *La rentrée, la reprise du travail* in early September. The word also appears in music: *reprendre un refrain* means to pick up a chorus again. In conversation, *il m'a repris* means someone corrected a mistake you made — a common classroom and workplace dynamic.