Did you know that resurrect didn’t exist as a word until the 1770s?!

I know, go ahead. Shake your head and said, “Nuh uh!” I know I did. But it’s true!

Resurrect is what etymologists refer to as a “back-formation.” Which is to say, we’ve had the noun, resurrection, in the English language pretty much forever (since about 1300), so eventually people just assumed it came from a verb (correct, it did) and began using that verb, resurrect. But it’s technically (or was technically) incorrect–that’s not the verb form of the word.

The noun resurrection came to us from Latin, via French. The Latin verb is resurgere, meaning “to rise again, to appear again.” Most Biblical translations will say that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, and that Christ himself was raised from the dead. We could also say the proper verb…resurge. That’s what would have been used until the 1770s.

When resurrection made its way into English around 1300, it was specifically talking about the resurrection of Christ. And by extension, “the resurrection of the dead in the last days” that He promised. In the 1500s, people began to use it metaphorically or in less-sacred senses.

Whatever the correct verb form, I pray everyone enjoys this season where we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord…to commemorate when He resurged. 😉

Word Nerds Merch!