rest

pronunciation

How to pronounce rest in British English: UK [rest] word uk audio image

How to pronounce rest in American English: US [rest] word us audio image

Noun:

something left after other parts have been taken away
freedom from activity (work or strain or responsibility)
a pause for relaxation
a state of inaction
euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb)
a support on which things can be put
a musical notation indicating a silence of a specified duration
Verb:

not move; be in a resting position
take a short break from one's activities in order to relax
give a rest to
have a place in relation to something else
be at rest
stay the same; remain in a certain state
be inherent or innate in
put something in a resting position, as for support or steadying
sit, as on a branch
rest on or as if on a pillow
be inactive, refrain from acting

Word Origin

rest: rest: English has two words rest in current general use: ‘repose’ [OE] and ‘remainder’ [15]. The former is a general Germanic term, with relatives in German (rast) and Swedish (rast), but its ultimate antecedents are uncertain. The latter comes via Old French rester ‘remain’ from Latin restāre ‘stand back’, a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘back’ and stāre ‘stand’ (source of English statue, status, etc and related to English stand).Amongst its derivatives is restive [16], which has completely reversed its meaning over the centuries. It comes from Vulgar Latin *restīvus ‘inclined to remain, unwilling to move’, and reached English via Old French restif in the sense ‘inactive’. The modern meaning ‘restless, uneasy’ comes partly from an intermediate ‘refractory, hard to control’, but also through association with the unrelated rest ‘repose’.=> arrest, stand, station, statue

rest (n.1): "sleep," Old English ræste, reste "rest, bed, intermission of labor, mental peace," common Germanic (Old Saxon resta "resting place, burial-place," Dutch rust, Old High German rasta, German Rast "rest, peace, repose"), of uncertain origin. Original sense seems to be a measure of distance (compare Old High German rasta, which in addition to "rest" meant "league of miles," Old Norse rost "league, distance after which one rests," Gothic rasta "mile, stage of a journey"), perhaps a word from the nomadic period. Unless the original sense is "repose," thence extended secondarily to "distance between two resting place." The meaning "support, thing upon which something rests" is attested from 1580s. At rest "dead" is from mid-14c., on the notion of "last rest." Rest stop is from 1973. Colloquial expression to give (something) a rest "to stop talking about it" is first recorded 1927, American English.

rest (v.2): "to be left, remain," mid-15c., from Old French rester "to remain," from Latin restare "stand back, be left," from re- "back" (see re-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand, set down, make or be firm" (see stet). Partially confused and merged with the other verb rest. Sense of "to continue to be" is in rest assured. Transitive sense of "to keep, cause to continue to remain" was common in 16c.-17c., "used with a predicate adjective following and qualifying the object" [Century Dictionary], hence phrase rest you merry (1540s); God rest you merry, gentlemen, often is mis-punctuated.

rest (n.2): "remainder, that which is left after a separation," early 15c., from Middle French reste "remnant," from rester "to remain" (see rest (v.2)). Meaning "others, those not included in a proposition" is from 1530s.

rest (v.1): "repose, cease from action," Old English ræstan, restan "take repose by lying down; lie in death or in the grave; cease from motion, work, or performance; be without motion; be undisturbed, be free from what disquiets; stand or lie as upon a support or basis," from root of rest (n.1). Transitive senses "give repose to; lay or place, as on a support or basis" are from early 13c. Meaning "cease from, have intermission" is late 14c., also "rely on for support." Related: Rested; resting. Common Germanic, with cognates in Old Frisian resta, Dutch rusten, Old High German raston, German rasten, Swedish rasta, Danish raste "to rest." Resting place is from mid-14c.