revenant
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
19th century. From French revenant, the present participle of revenir (“to return”). Compare revenue.
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
revenant (plural revenants)
- Someone who returns from a long absence.
- 1886, Mrs Lynn Linton, Paston Carew viii, as cited in the Oxford English Dictionary, volume 8 part 1, published 1914, page 595:
- They would not visit this undesirable revenant with his insolent wealth and discreditable origin.
- 1895 August 31, Daily News 4/7, as cited in the Oxford English Dictionary, volume 8 part 1, published 1914, page 595:
- The undergraduates, our fogey revenant observes, look much as they did.., in outward aspect.
- 2008, Andrew Cusack, Wanderer in 19th-Century German Literature, Camden House, ISBN 978-1-57113-386-1, page 91:
- From this moment on, the hero's fate is sealed; an attempt to reestablish himself in human society, though initially successful, inevitably fails. The stone tablet exerts an invincible fascination over the revenant, who becomes so withdrawn that his father implores him: […]
- 1886, Mrs Lynn Linton, Paston Carew viii, as cited in the Oxford English Dictionary, volume 8 part 1, published 1914, page 595:
- A person or thing reborn.
- 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin 2009, page 184:
- Sometimes […] semi-identifications could be made on the basis of names. Henry VII's son Arthur was hailed as a revenant in this way.
- 2007, John Burrow, A History of Histories, Penguin 2009, page 184:
- A supernatural being that returns from the dead; a zombie or ghost.
- 1969, Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah[1], edition 2008 ed., ISBN 0441015611, page 19:
- Earlier you mentioned a ghost, a revenant with which we may contaminate the Emperor.
- 1969, Frank Herbert, Dune Messiah[1], edition 2008 ed., ISBN 0441015611, page 19:
Synonyms [edit]
- See also Wikisaurus:ghost
Translations [edit]
Someone who returns from a long absence
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someone reborn
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supernatural being
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Adjective [edit]
revenant (comparative more revenant, superlative most revenant)
- Used as an adjective.
- 1988, Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses, Random House (2008), page 134:
- On clear nights when the moon was full, she waited for its shining revenant ghost.
- 1988, Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses, Random House (2008), page 134:
French [edit]
Verb [edit]
revenant
- Present participle of revenir.
Noun [edit]
revenant m (plural revenants)
- A supernatural being that returns from the dead; a zombie or ghost.
