repatriate

American  

[ree-pey-tree-eyt, ree-pey-tree-it] / riˈpeɪ triˌeɪt, riˈpeɪ tri ɪt /

verb (used with object)

repatriated, repatriating

1. to bring or send back (a person, especially a prisoner of war, a refugee, etc.) to their country or land of citizenship.

2. to send (profits or other assets) back to one's own country.

3. to restore to a country that has attained sovereignty something that was formerly held or administered on that country’s behalf by a colonial power.

   In 1982, the Trudeau government repatriated Canada's constitution from Britain.

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verb (used without object)

repatriated, repatriating

1. to return to one's own country.

   to repatriate after 20 years abroad.

noun

1. a person who has been repatriated.

repatriate British  

verb

1. to send back (a refugee, prisoner of war, etc) to the country of his birth or citizenship

2. to send back (a sum of money previously invested abroad) to its country of origin

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noun

1. a person who has been repatriated

Other Word Forms

• nonrepatriable adjective
• repatriable adjective
• repatriation noun
• unrepatriated adjective

Etymology

Origin of repatriate

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin repatriātus (past participle of repatriāre “to return to one's fatherland”), equivalent to Latin re- “again, back” + patri(a) “native country” (noun use of feminine of patrius “paternal,” derivative of pater “father”) + -ātus past participle suffix; re-, father, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The bodies of five of them were repatriated to Italy on Monday.

From Barron's

The bodies of five of the six Italian nationals killed in the Swiss fire disaster in Crans-Montana were being repatriated on Monday, four days after the tragedy that claimed 40 lives.

From Barron's

"This historic event marks the reunification of the Piprahwa gem relics of Lord Buddha, repatriated after 127 years," the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.

From Barron's

A government source suggested to AFP on Thursday that the remains of the victims may have been repatriated to the United Kingdom, Joshua's whereabouts are unknown.

From Barron's

Babycoming Inc., the company that picked up the newborn from Tennessee, said in an undated advertisement on a forum for Chinese speakers in Los Angeles that it had “repatriated nearly 100 surrogate babies.”

From The Wall Street Journal