regift

English

Alternative forms

• re-gift

Etymology

From re- +‎ gift.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɹiˈɡɪft/, enPR: rē-gĭftʹ
• Rhymes: -ɪft

Verb

regift (third-person singular simple present regifts, present participle regifting, simple past and past participle regifted)

1. (ditransitive, informal) To give something as a gift which the giver previously received as a gift; to give to a person something previously received as a gift.
   • 2007, Sue Fox, Etiquette for Dummies, page 252:

     Be upfront when giving the re-gifted item.

   • 2008, Jeanne Bice, The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Experts' Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic, page 231:

     Don't tell the person who is receiving the gift that he/she is being regifted.

   • 2008, Yvonne Jeffery, Liz Barclay, Michael Grosvenor, Green Living For Dummies, page 125:

     It's not usually acceptable to regift an item that's used rather than new. On the other hand, regifting something that's important to you and thus sharing its value with the recipient is actually quite generous and thoughtful.

   • 2009, Delilah Scott, Emma Troy, The Upside-Down Christmas Tree: And Other Bizarre Yuletide Tales, page 112:

     But before you do any real regifting, you need to learn the rules.

Translations

to give a thing previously received as a gift

• German: weiterverschenken
• Italian: riciclare (it)
• Russian: переда́ривать (ru) impf (peredárivatʹ)

Noun

regift (plural regifts)

1. (informal) A gift which has been given to a second or subsequent recipient.
   • 2006, Esquire, volume 145, page 144:

     Fortunately, I'd brought a selection of consolation prizes, Christmas regifts all, and so Ritchie the stranded F-250 driver became the recipient of a very nice scented candle.

   • 2007, Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht, The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, page 374:

     Some regifts, particularly distinctive ones, may make the rounds (see “How to Repurpose a Fruitcake,” facing page) and end up being regifted to the original giver, a situation you may find hard to explain.

   • 2008, Jeanne Bice, The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Experts' Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic, page 233:

     Food and drink are the most likely type of unwanted items to be passed along, accounting for 35 percent of all regifts, versus 23 percent for beauty and bath products and 18 percent for trinkets and collectibles.

Coordinate terms

• mathom
• hand-me-down

Translations

thing given as a gift that was previously received as a gift

• Italian: regalo riciclato m
• Polish: prezent przechodni m

Anagrams

• Fertig, fergit, gifter