rein

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: rain, reign

Etymology 1

From Middle English rein, reyne, borrowed from Anglo-Norman reyne, resne, from Early Medieval Latin retina, ultimately from Classical Latin retineō (“hold back”), from re- + teneō (“keep, hold”). Compare modern French rêne.

Displaced native Old English ġewealdleþer (literally “control leather”).

Noun

rein (plural reins)

1. A strap or rope attached to a bridle or bit, used to control a horse, animal or young child.
2. (figurative) An instrument or means of curbing, restraining, or governing.

   The government is attempting to keep a rein on rising prices.

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. , London: [Samuel Simmons], , →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: , London: Basil Montagu Pickering , 1873, →OCLC:

     Let their eyes rove without rein.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

rein (third-person singular simple present reins, present participle reining, simple past and past participle reined)

1. (transitive) To direct or stop a horse by using reins.
   • , Homer, “(please specify |book=I to XXIV)”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., The Iliads of Homer Prince of Poets. , London: Nathaniell Butter, →OCLC; The Iliads of Homer, Prince of Poets, , new edition, volumes (please specify the book number), London: Charles Knight and Co., , 1843, →OCLC:

     He mounts and reins his horse.

     The spelling has been modernized.

2. (transitive) To restrain; to control; to check.
   • c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :

     Being once chafed, he cannot / Be reined again to temperance.

   • 2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections:

     After an interval that he judged to have lasted twenty minutes, the bed began to shake with poorly reined sobs.

3. (intransitive) To obey directions given with the reins.
   • 2011, Marie Claire Peck, Rocking Horse Ranch, page 40:

     She worked each horse at a walk, trot, and then a canter. The horses reined well and executed stops quickly.

Derived terms

• rein in

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Anglo-Norman reines, Middle French reins, and their source, Latin rēnēs. Doublet of ren.

Noun

rein (plural reins)

1. (now rare, archaic, chiefly in plural) A kidney.
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes , book II, London: Val Simmes for Edward Blount , →OCLC:

     a man subject to these like imaginations […] hath often the stone imaginarily, before he have it in his reines […].

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Lamentations 3:13:

     He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

2. The inward impulses; the affections and passions, formerly supposed to be located in the area of the kidneys.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Proverbs 23:16:

     My reins rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, Revelation 2:23:

     I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts.

Anagrams

• Erin, N.Ire., Rine, in re, rine

Bavarian

Noun

rein

1. (Timau) rain

References

• Umberto Patuzzi, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar, Luserna: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch reine, from Old Dutch reini, from Proto-West Germanic *hrainī, from Proto-Germanic *hrainiz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛi̯n/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

rein (comparative reiner, superlative reinst)

1. (formal) clean, spotless
2. (Netherlands) pure, sheer

Inflection

Derived terms

• onrein

Descendants

• Negerhollands: rein

Anagrams

• erin, nier

Finnish

Noun

rein

1. instructive plural of reki

Anagrams

• Erin, erin

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French rein, from Old French rein, from the plural reins, from Latin rēnes < rēn, from Proto-Italic *hrēn, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰren- (“an internal part of the body”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁɛ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

rein m (plural reins)

1. (anatomy) kidney
2. (in the plural) small of the back, waist

Derived terms

Related terms

• rénal
• rognon

Further reading

• “rein”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Anagrams

• nier, rien

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁaɪn/
• Rhymes: -aɪ̯n
• Homophone: Rhein

Etymology 1

From Middle High German reine, from Old High German reini, from Proto-West Germanic *hrainī, from Proto-Germanic *hrainiz, from Proto-Indo-European *króy-n-is, from *krey- (“divide, sift”). Cognate with Old Saxon hreni, (Low German ren), Dutch rein, Old Norse hreinn (Swedish ren), Ancient Greek κρῑ́νω (krī́nō, “separate, decide, judge”), Old Irish criathar, English riddle (“sieve”).

Adjective

rein (strong nominative masculine singular reiner, comparative reiner, superlative am reinsten)

1. pure, clear, plain
   • 2010, Der Spiegel‎, number 24/2010, page 131:

     Natürlich ist eine Weltmeisterschaft kein reines Sportevent mehr, sie ist sicher auch ein bisschen Welt- und Entwicklungspolitik.

     Of course, a world championship is no longer a pure sports event, it surely is also a bit of world and development politics.

Declension

Adverb

rein

1. purely

   Unsere Beziehung ist rein platonisch.

   Our relationship is purely platonic.

Related terms

• reinigen

Etymology 2

Contraction of herein (“in here”), or hinein (“in there”).

Alternative forms

• rin

Adverb

rein

1. (colloquial) inside, in here

   Er kommt jetzt rein. ― He's coming inside now.

2. (colloquial) inside, in there

   Er geht rein zu den andern. ― He's going inside to the other people.

Usage notes

The standard language distinguishes the meanings of hinein (“in there: away from the speaker”) and herein (“in here: towards the speaker”). Rein is used for both meanings.

Synonyms

• herein
• hinein

Related terms

• hinaus
• heraus
• raus

Further reading

• “rein” in Duden online
• “rein” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• Friedrich Kluge (1883) “rein”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse rein, reina, from Proto-Germanic *rainō. Cognate with English rean, German Rain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈreiːn/
• Rhymes: -eiːn

Noun

rein f (genitive singular reinar, nominative plural reinar)

1. strip (of land)

Declension

Derived terms

• aðrein
• akrein
• frárein

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish rígan (“queen”), from Proto-Celtic *rīganī. Cognate to Irish ríon, Scottish Gaelic rìghinn, rìbhinn, Welsh rhiain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /reːn/

Noun

rein f (genitive singular , plural )

1. queen, regina

   Synonym: benrein

Derived terms

• benrein

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French rein.

Noun

rein m (plural reins)

1. (anatomy) kidney

Descendants

• French: rein

Norman

Etymology

From Old French rein, reins, from Latin rēn, rēnes.

Noun

rein m (plural reins)

1. (Jersey, anatomy) kidney

Related terms

• rîngnon

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rejn/,
• Homophone: regn

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hreinn.

Alternative forms

• ren

Adjective

rein (neuter singular reint, definite singular and plural reine, comparative reinere, indefinite superlative reinest, definite superlative reineste)

1. clean
2. pure

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hreinn.

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:

rein

Wikipedia ^no

Noun

rein m (definite singular reinen, indefinite plural reiner, definite plural reinene)

1. a reindeer

Synonyms

• reinsdyr

Derived terms

• reinkalv

References

• “rein” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /rɛɪːn/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hreinn.

Adjective

rein (neuter singular reint, definite singular and plural reine, comparative reinare, indefinite superlative reinast, definite superlative reinaste)

1. clean
2. pure

Etymology 2

From Old Norse hreinn.

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:

rein

Wikipedia ⁿⁿ

Noun

rein m (definite singular reinen, indefinite plural reinar, definite plural reinane)

1. a reindeer, Rangifer tarandus
   • 1855, Ivar Aasen, Ervingen:

     […] renna i Kapp med Reinen, um Raasi er tung og vaat: Dat maa ein Galning vera, som so vil fara aat.

     To race against the reindeer, if the road is soggy and wet: It must be a madman who wants to act like that.

Synonyms

• reinsdyr

Derived terms

• reinkalv
• reinsbukk

References

• “rein” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old French

Etymology 1

First attested in the plural as reins, from Latin rēnes, plural of the almost unused rēn.

Alternative forms

• rain

Noun

rein oblique singular, m (oblique plural reinz, nominative singular reinz, nominative plural rein)

1. (anatomy) kidney
2. (in the plural, reins) small of the back, lower back

Descendants

• Middle French: rein
  • French: rein
• Norman: rein
• Walloon: rino, rno, rin
• → English: rein

Etymology 2

See rien

Noun

rein oblique singular, f (oblique plural reinz, nominative singular rein, nominative plural reinz)

1. Alternative form of rien

Plautdietsch

Adjective

rein

1. clean
2. pure, immaculate
3. chaste

Volapük

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

rein (nominative plural reins)

1. rain

Declension

Synonyms

• lömib

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian , from Proto-West Germanic *regn, from Proto-Germanic *regną.

Pronunciation

• (Clay) IPA^(key): /rai̯n/
• (Wood) IPA^(key): /rɛi̯n/

Noun

rein c (no plural, diminutive reintsje)

1. rain

Derived terms

• reinbôge

Further reading

• “rein (I)”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011