redress means the act of redressing; a making right; amendment; correction; reformation. It carries an Arena rating of 1585, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, redress ranks #637 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words, #825 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,338 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #1,740 of 17,105 for Most Storied Words.
redress is pronounced /ɹɪˈdɹɛs/.
Why “redress” is a great word
The act of setting right or compensating for a wrong or injury. From Middle English redressen, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French redresser ("to set right again"), from Old French re- ("again") + drecier ("to straighten, set right"), from Vulgar Latin *drēctiāre, from Latin dīrēctus ("straight"). First recorded in English in the late 14th century. Unlike "remedy," which seeks to cure a cause, or "address," which merely directs attention, redress is justice in its most corrective form. It is the widow receiving back stolen land, the formal apology spoken in a sunlit courtroom, the financial settlement that acknowledges an injury's depth—not a cure, but a deliberate realignment, a hand drawing straight what had been twisted. The word knows some things cannot be undone, only acknowledged, and paid for.
Etymology
From Middle English redressen, from Anglo-Norman radresser, redrescer, redrescier and Middle French redresser (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again; to rebuild, to repair something damaged, to rectify, to restore; to obtain redress; to cure; (of hair) to stand on end; to revise a judgment”) (modern French redresser), from Old French redrecier (“to stand (someone or something) up; to stand up again”), from Old French re- (“again, once more”) (from Latin re-, from Proto-Italic *wre (“again”); further etymology uncertain) + Old French drechier, drecier, dresser (“to dress; to stand up”) (from Vulgar Latin *drēctiāre, a contracted form of *dīrēctiāre, from Latin dīrēctus (“straight”)). Compare Catalan redreçar, Spanish redreçar (obsolete), Italian redreçare, redrezare, redric
noun
- The act of redressing; a making right; amendment; correction; reformation.
- A setting right, as of injury, oppression, or wrong, such as the redress of grievances; hence, indemnification; relief; remedy; reparation.
- A possibility to set right, or a possibility to seek a remedy, for instance in court
- One who, or that which, gives relief; a redresser.
- The redecoration of a previously existing film set so that it can double for another set.
verb
- To put in order again; to set right; to revise.
- To set right (a wrong); to repair, (an injury or damage); to make amends for; to remedy; to relieve from.
- To make amends or compensation to; to relieve of anything unjust or oppressive; to bestow relief upon.e.g.“Nor envy we / Thy great reknown, nor grudge thy victory; / 'Tis thine, O king! the afflicted to redress, / And fame has fill'd the world with thy success: […]” — 1806, John Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite; or, The Knight's Tale. From [Geoffrey] Chaucer.”, in Thomas Park, editor, Fables from Bocaccio and Chaucer: … In Two Volumes. Collated with the Best Editions: …
- To put upright again; to restore.
- To dress again.e.g.“The top soil, which was removed before the main excavations, is being redressed on the new slopes to a depth of 4 in. and sown with grass seed.” — 1958 January 7, “Rainham-Newington Widening, Southern Region”, in Railway Magazine, pages 51, 53:
- To redecorate a previously existing film set so that it can double for another set.e.g.“Meanwhile the actors rearranged themselves into a different blocking, as the prop department redressed the set.” — 1989, American Cinematographer, volume 70, Hollywood, Calif.: ASC Holding Corp., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 90:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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