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Re: Refrigerator

Bob Cunningham wrote:
>  On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:15:37 +0200, Einde O'Callaghan
> <einde.ocallaghan@planet-interkom.de> wrote:
>
>> Bob Cunningham wrote:
>>> (Crossposted to alt.usage.english.)
>>>
>>>  On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:22:08 +0100, Frederick Williams
>>> <frederick.williams2@tesco.net> wrote [in alt.languages.english]:
>>>
>>>> What is the significance of the prefix "re" in the word
"refrigerator"?
>>> As you probably know, the prefix "re-" occurs in quite a few
English
>>> words where its meanings of "again, back" or "away"
don't seem to
>>> offer a satisfactory reason.
>>>
>> The fact that the current meaning of a word doesn't contain the concept
>> of "again-ness" doesn't mean that it didn't originate from the latin
>> root meaning repitition. An example is the word "reduce" . Today
there
>> is no sense of repetition here but originally it did come from a Latin
>> word meaning "to lead back".
>
> But did Latin "refrigeratus" or "refrigerare" ever have any
> connotation that could be inferred from any modern definition of
> English "re-" besides intensification?
>
According to the Online Etymology dictionary the Latin root meant
"mitigation of heat", particularly in the context of illness - i.e.
reduction of fever, in other words "making cool again".

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

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