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re·venge (rĭ-vĕnj)
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tr.v. re·venged, re·veng·ing, re·veng·es
1. To inflict punishment in return for (injury or insult).
2. Archaic To seek or take vengeance for (oneself or another person); avenge.
n.
1. The act of taking vengeance for injuries or wrongs; retaliation: took revenge on her tormentors.
2. A desire for revenge; spite or vindictiveness: He did it out of revenge.
3.
a. An opportunity to retaliate, as by a return sports match after a defeat: After the loss, he demanded that he be given his revenge.
b. Something done in retaliation, especially a defeat of a rival who has been victorious.
[Middle English revengen, from Old French revengier : re-, re- + vengier, to take revenge (from Latin vindicāre, to avenge, from vindex, vindic-, avenger; see deik- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]
re·venger n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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