Definition
nounRelief from work or activity by sleeping; sleep.
nounAny relief from exertion; a state of quiet and relaxation.
Sentence Examples
I don't want to spend the rest of my life regretting it.
You're sick. You have to rest.
Take what you want and throw the rest away.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *rastō
Proto-West Germanic *rastu
Old English ræst
Middle English reste
English rest
From Middle English rest, reste, from Old English ræst, from Proto-West Germanic *rastu, from Proto-Germanic *rastō, from Proto-Indo-European *ros-, *res-, *erH- (“rest”). Cognate with West Frisian rêst (“rest”), Dutch rust (“rest”), German Rast (“rest”), Swedish rast (“rest”), Norwegian rest (“rest”), Icelandic röst (“rest”), Old Irish árus (“dwelling”), German Ruhe (“calm”), Albanian resht (“to stop, pause”), Welsh araf (“quiet, calm, gentle”), Lithuanian rovà (“calm”), Ancient Greek ἐρωή (erōḗ, “rest, respite”), Avestan 𐬀𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬨𐬈 (aⁱrime, “calm, peaceful”), Sanskrit रमते (rámate, “he stays still, calms down”), Gothic 𐍂𐌹𐌼𐌹𐍃 (rimis, “tranquility”). Related to roo.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"And the land had rest fourscore years."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 3:30:
"their visors closed, their lances in the rest"
— 1700, [John] Dryden, “The Flower and the Leaf: Or, The Lady in the Arbour. A Vision.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"in dust our final rest, and native home"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"Ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Deuteronomy xii:9:
"a new account was opened under the heading "Irondale Mine" and so continued witli semiannual rest"
— 1874, New York Court of Appeals, Records and Briefs: