revenge

Meanings

Noun

• Any form of personal, retaliatory action against an individual, institution, or group for some alleged or perceived harm or injustice.
• A win by a previous loser.

Verb

• To take revenge for (a particular harmful action) or on behalf of (its victim); to avenge.
• To take one's revenge (on or upon someone).
• To take vengeance; to revenge itself.

Origin

• From Middle French revenge, a derivation from revenger, from Old French revengier (possibly influenced by Old Occitan revènge ("revenge, comeback"), from Old Occitan revenir ("to come back")), a variant of Middle French revancher, from Old French revenchier. The variants Old French vengier (whence French venger) and Old French venchier are both descended from Latin vindicō, with stress-conditioned different parallel development in the inflectional forms. Compare avenge and vengeance.