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definitions

reclaim

[ ri-kleym ]
/ rɪˈkleɪm /
||
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verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

to protest; object.

noun

reclamation: beyond reclaim.

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RELATED WORDS

restore, convert, recover, salvage, rescue, rehabilitate, improve, save, refurbish, repair, regenerate, recycle, redeem, remodel, recondition, mend, resolve, reform, recall, tame

Nearby words

  1. recklinghausen's tumor,
  2. reckon,
  3. reckon with,
  4. reckoner,
  5. reckoning,
  6. reclaimant,
  7. reclamation,
  8. reclassify,
  9. reclearance,
  10. reclinate

Origin of reclaim

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English recla(i)men < Old French reclamer (tonic stem reclaim-) < Latin reclāmāre to cry out against, equivalent to re- re- + clāmāre to claim; (noun) Middle English reclaim(e) < Old French reclaim, reclam, derivative of reclamer
Related formsre·claim·a·ble, adjectivere·claim·er, nounnon·re·claim·a·ble, adjectiveun·re·claim·a·ble, adjective
Can be confusedre-claim reclaim

re-claim

[ ree-kleym ]
/ riˈkleɪm /

verb (used with object)

to claim or demand the return or restoration of, as a right, possession, etc.
to claim again.
Also reclaim.

Origin of re-claim

1400–50; late Middle English. See re-, claim
Can be confusedre-claim reclaim
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for reclaim

British Dictionary definitions for reclaim

reclaim

/ (rɪˈkleɪm) /

verb (tr)

to claim backto reclaim baggage
to convert (desert, marsh, waste ground, etc) into land suitable for growing crops
to recover (useful substances) from waste products
to convert (someone) from sin, folly, vice, etc
falconry to render (a hawk or falcon) tame

noun

the act of reclaiming or state of being reclaimed
Derived Formsreclaimable, adjectivereclaimant or reclaimer, noun

Word Origin for reclaim

C13: from Old French réclamer, from Latin reclāmāre to cry out, protest, from re- + clāmāre to shout
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for reclaim

reclaim

v.

early 14c., "call back a hawk to the glove," from Old French reclamer "to call upon, invoke; claim; seduce; to call back a hawk" (12c.) and directly from Latin reclamare "cry out against, contradict, protest, appeal," from re- "opposite, against" (see re-) + clamare "cry out" (see claim (v.)).

"Call back a hawk," hence "to make tame" (mid-15c.), "subdue, reduce to obedience, make amenable to control" (late 14c.). In many Middle English uses with no sense of return or reciprocation. Meaning "revoke" (a grant, gift, etc.) is from late 15c. That of "recall (someone) from an erring course to a proper state" is mid-15c. Sense of "get back by effort" might reflect influence of claim. Meaning "bring waste land into useful condition fit for cultivation" first attested 1764, probably on notion of "reduce to obedience." Related: Reclaimed; reclaiming.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper