reclaim

English

Etymology

From Middle English reclaymen, recleymen, reclamen, from Anglo-Norman reclamer (noun reclaim and Middle French reclamer (noun reclaim), from Latin reclāmō, reclāmāre.

Pronunciation

verb

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈkleɪm/, /ɹiːˈkleɪm/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

noun

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɹiːkleɪm/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪm

Verb

reclaim (third-person singular simple present reclaims, present participle reclaiming, simple past and past participle reclaimed)

2. (transitive) To return land to a suitable condition for use.
3. (transitive) To obtain useful products from waste; to recycle.
4. (transitive) To claim something back; to repossess.
5. (transitive, dated) To return someone to a proper course of action, or correct an error; to reform.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene ii:

     His Highneſſe pleaſure is that he ſhould liue,
     And be reclaim’d with princely lenitie.

   • 1609, Edward Hoby, A Letter to Mr. T[heophilus] H[iggons], late Minister: now Fugitive ... in answere of his first Motive:

     Your errour, in time reclaimed, will be veniall.

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

     They, hardened more by what might most reclaim, / Grieving to see his glory […] took envy.

   • a. 1729, John Rogers, The Goodness of God a Motive to Repentance:

     It is the intention of Providence, in all the various expressions of his goodness, to reclaim mankind.

6. (transitive, archaic) To tame or domesticate a wild animal.
   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     an eagle well reclaimed

7. (transitive, archaic) To call back from flight or disorderly action; to call to, for the purpose of subduing or quieting.
   • 1697, Virgil, “The First Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     They were the head-strong horses, who hurried Octavius […] along, and were deaf to his reclaiming them.

8. (transitive, archaic) To cry out in opposition or contradiction; to exclaim against anything; to contradict; to take exceptions.
   • 1719, Daniel Waterland, A Vindication of Christ's Divinit:

     Scripture reclaims, and the whole Catholic church reclaims, and Christian ears would not bear it.

   • 1882, Alexander Bain, Biography of James Mill:

     At a later period Grote reclaimed strongly against Mill's setting Whately above Hamilton.

   • 1642, Thomas Fuller, The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC:

     True it is he was very wild in his youth till God (the best Chymick who can fix quicksilver it self) gratiously reclaim'd him

9. (obsolete, rare) To draw back; to give way.
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     Yet would he not perswaded be for ought,
     Ne from his currish will a whit reclame.

10. (intransitive, law, Scotland) To appeal from the Lord Ordinary to the inner house of the Court of Session.
11. (sociology) To bring back a term into acceptable usage, usually of a slur, and usually by the group that was once targeted by that slur.

    Once a term of homophobic abuse, the term “queer” has been reclaimed as a marker for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT), and other marginalized sexual identities.

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *kelh₁-‎ (0 c, 49 e)

Translations

to return land to a suitable condition

• Bulgarian: поправям (bg) (popravjam), възстаноявявам (vǎzstanojavjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 開墾／开垦 (zh) (kāikěn)

• Finnish: kunnostaa (fi), palauttaa (fi)
• Norman: r'cliâmer

to obtain useful product from waste — see recycle

to claim something back, repossess

• Bulgarian: връщам си (vrǎštam si)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 回收 (zh) (huíshōu)

• Esperanto: repreni
• Finnish: saada takaisin
• French: reprendre (fr), recouvrer (fr), regagner (fr), récupérer (fr)
• Hebrew: תָּבַע בַּחֲזָרָה (tabá bakhazará)
• Hungarian: visszavesz (hu), visszahódít (hu) (wilderness, land)
• Ido: retroprenar (io)
• Interlingua: recuperar
• Italian: reclamare (it)
• Portuguese: reclamar (pt)
• Spanish: reclamar (es)
• Turkish: geri almak (tr)

to return someone to a proper course of action

• Bulgarian: превъзпитавам (prevǎzpitavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 使悔改

• Finnish: ojentaa (fi)
• Hungarian: jó útra terel, rehabilitál (hu)
• Portuguese: chamar à razão

to tame or domesticate a wild animal — see tame

to call back from flight or disorderly action

• Finnish: kutsua takaisin

Noun

reclaim (plural reclaims)

1. (obsolete, falconry) The calling back of a hawk.
2. (obsolete) The bringing back or recalling of a person; the fetching of someone back.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

     The louing couple need no reskew feare, / But leasure had, and libertie to frame / Their purpost flight, free from all mens reclame […] .

3. An effort to take something back, to reclaim something.
4. baggage reclaim

Derived terms

• baggage reclaim

 

Anagrams

• Maricle, Miracle, Ramciel, car mile, claimer, miracle

Old French

Noun

reclaim oblique singular, m (oblique plural reclains, nominative singular reclains, nominative plural reclaim)

1. reputation

Descendants

• English: reclaim

References

• reclaim on the Anglo-Norman On-Line Hub