I was stuck in Melbourne traffic for about an hour this morning, and for much of it I was following this truck with a mammoth sticker that read: "RETIRED". I guess he is pretty proud of this to display a sticker so prominently on his rear window. I stared at word for a while, and it began to lose its meaning; I started to think about the word "TIRED" and how "re-" as a prefix can be confusing.
For many words, the prefix "re-" is used with stress, with the sense of "again". "Redo", "rewrite", "remake", "realign" etc. Interestingly, even "repeat" derives from the same pattern, stemming from the word "re + petition" and "repetitive" meaning tiresomely iterative. While its true, you are likely to be "tired" when you "retire to bed" or "retire from your job", the prefix "re-" doesn't seem to reflect a state of "doing tired again".
My big etymology book failed me on this, and I turned to the trusty Google to sift out the answer:
"Retire" comes from re- "back" + old French (written and spoken c. 900-1400) tirer "draw out, endure, suffer".
In contrast, the origin of the word "tire" is a little shaky. It stems from the old English (written and spoken c. 450-1100) ateorian "to be weary".
Sometimes more confusing when we write, is remembering when the "re-" takes a hyphen or not: for instance, re-cover (to cover again) versus recover (to have something returned); re-call (such as call out a number again) versus recall (remember).
And, of course, "re" is not always a prefix; plenty of words begin with "re", such as "really": it's not re-ally.
I am in awe of everyone who studies English as a second language...keep it up -- and thanks for letting us get away with these inconsistencies!
Happy writing!
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