Q I would like to know the origins and differences between the words “iterate” and “reiterate.” I cannot recall hearing “iterate” used in a sentence. Why is this? Wouldn’t you “iterate” a subject prior to “reiterating” it? – T. R., Hummelstown, Pa.

A: You’re not the first person to have wondered about the “re-” of “reiterate.” A number of usage commentators have noticed that the word has a kind of built-in redundancy. The rarely used “iterate” (from the Latin “iterum,” meaning “again”) itself means “to say or do again,” so that it seems as if “reiterate” ought to mean something like “to re-say or re-do again.” A few commentators have actually objected to using “reiterate” when referring to a first repetition, saying, as you suggest, that it’s necessary first to iterate something before reiterating it.

But other commentators recognize that such a restriction does not reflect actual usage. Both “iterate” and “reiterate” are used essentially as synonyms of “repeat,” with the chief distinction between them being the one you’ve noted – that “reiterate” is the far more common word.

“Reiterate,” which was first recorded in 1526, does sometimes convey the idea of many repetitions, but more often it is distinguished from such common verbs as “repeat” and “restate” by connotations of forcefulness and emphasis: “The senator reiterated his stand against the proposed legislation.” “Iterate,” on the other hand, is a decidedly bookish word that seems to be little used except in mathematical and technical writing.

This column was prepared by the editors of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition.

Readers may send questions to Merriam-Webster’s Wordwatch, P.O. Box 281, 47 Federal St., Springfield, Mass. 01102.

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