Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
regift en · NOUN
Pronunciation
/ɹiˈɡɪft/ (General-American)
rē-gĭftʹ (General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Italic *wre-
Latin re-der.
Old French re-bor.
Middle English re-
English re-
English gift
English regift
From re- + gift.
Meanings
(informal) A gift which has been given to a second or subsequent recipient.
Food and drink are the most likely type of unwanted items to be passed along, accounting for 35 percent of all regifts, versus 23 percent for beauty and bath products and 18 percent for trinkets and collectibles. 2008, Jeanne Bice, The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Experts' Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic, page 233:
Fortunately, I'd brought a selection of consolation prizes, Christmas regifts all, and so Ritchie the stranded F-250 driver became the recipient of a very nice scented candle. 2006, Esquire, volume 145, page 144:
Some regifts, particularly distinctive ones, may make the rounds (see “How to Repurpose a Fruitcake,” facing page) and end up being regifted to the original giver, a situation you may find hard to explain. 2007, Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht, The Complete Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook, page 374:
it regalo riciclato (thing given as a gift that was previously received as a gift) · pl prezent przechodni (thing given as a gift that was previously received as a gift)
regift en · VERB
Pronunciation
/ɹiˈɡɪft/ (General-American)
rē-gĭftʹ (General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Italic *wre-
Latin re-der.
Old French re-bor.
Middle English re-
English re-
English gift
English regift
From re- + gift.
Meanings
(ditransitive, informal) To give something as a gift which the giver previously received as a gift; to give to a person something previously received as a gift.
In 2016, Soon-Yi Previn, the wife of Mr. [Woody] Allen, thanked Mr. [Jeff] Epstein for “the sweatshirts,” but asked that next time they not be monogrammed: “so when I regift it no one will suspect.” Mr. Epstein advised that she could always regift them to someone with the same initials. 2026 February 5, Jacob Gallagher, “How Epstein Used Luxury Goods to Curry Favor”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2026:
Be upfront when giving the re-gifted item. 2007, Sue Fox, Etiquette for Dummies, page 252:
But before you do any real regifting, you need to learn the rules. 2009, Delilah Scott, Emma Troy, The Upside-Down Christmas Tree: And Other Bizarre Yuletide Tales, page 112:
Don't tell the person who is receiving the gift that he/she is being regifted. 2008, Jeanne Bice, The Ultimate Christmas: The Best Experts' Advice for a Memorable Season with Stories and Photos of Holiday Magic, page 231:
It's not usually acceptable to regift an item that's used rather than new. On the other hand, regifting something that's important to you and thus sharing its value with the recipient is actually quite generous and thoughtful. 2008, Yvonne Jeffery, Liz Barclay, Michael Grosvenor, Green Living For Dummies, page 125:
de weiterverschenken (to give a thing previously received as a gift) · ru переда́ривать (to give a thing previously received as a gift) · de weiterschenken (to give a thing previously received as a gift) · it riciclare (to give a thing previously received as a gift)