atone
See also at one
English
Etymology
From atone (“reconciled”), from Middle English atone, attone, atoon (“agreed”, literally “at one”), equivalent to at + one.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /əˈtəʊn/
- (US) IPA: /əˈtoʊn/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -əʊn
- one and once are pronounced differently from the related words alone, only and atone. Stressed vowels often become diphthongs over time (Latin bona → Italian buona and Spanish buena), and this happened in the late Middle Ages to the words one and once, first recorded ca 1400: the vowel underwent some changes, from ōn → ōōōn → wōn → wōōn → wŏŏn → wŭn.
Verb
atone (third-person singular simple present atones, present participle atoning, simple past and past participle atoned)
- To make reparation, compensation, or amends, for an offence or a crime or a sin one has committed.
- (proscribed) To clear (someone else) of wrongdoing, especially by standing as an equivalent.
Synonyms
- (to make reparation): expiate, propitiate
Derived terms
Translations
to make reparation, compensation, or amends, for an offence or a crime
to clear someone else of wrongdoing