redeem
Meaning
to make something that is bad, unpleasant, etc. better or more acceptable
to exchange a piece of paper representing an amount of money for that amount of money or for goods of the same value
to get something back by paying a sum of money, especially something that you had left with somebody as a promise that you would pay them money that you owed them
to free somebody from the power of evil, especially in the christian religion
Structure
Usage
the excellent acting wasn't enough to redeem the weak plot of the movie.
you can redeem this coupon for a free coffee at any participating location.
he managed to redeem his watch from the pawnshop after getting his first paycheck.
Etymology
the word 'redeem' entered english in the late middle english period, derived from the old french 'redimer', which itself came from the latin 'redimere'. this latin verb is a compound of 're-', meaning "back", and 'emere', meaning "to take or buy". the core literal sense was "to buy back" or "to take back". this concrete financial meaning of recovering something by payment evolved to encompass more abstract senses, such as recovering one's honor or situation ("to make something bad better"). in christian theology, it took on the profound spiritual meaning of freeing someone from sin or evil through a sacrificial payment, reflecting the original transactional logic applied to a metaphysical context.
Analysis
're-' is a latin prefix meaning "again, back". '-deem' is from latin 'emere' meaning "to take, buy, gain", combined with the intensive prefix 'd-' (from 'de-').