redemption
noun
Redemption — the act of buying back something previously given up
Definition
The act of purchasing back something previously sold
In depth
Redemption, in this financial and transactional sense, is the act of purchasing back something previously sold, such as a bond, a pawned item, or a financial instrument reaching maturity. The word's far more common figurative and spiritual sense, the recovery of moral worth or salvation from sin, draws directly on this underlying image of buying something back from a state of loss or forfeiture.
Origin
The word descends from Latin redimere, to buy back, formed from red- (back) and emere (to buy). That literal commercial sense of buying back what had been lost or surrendered is the foundation for the word's enormous figurative and theological weight, spiritual redemption conceived, at its linguistic root, as a kind of buying back of the soul from a state of loss.
Usage examples
"The bond's redemption at maturity returned the full principal to its original investors."
"She finally managed the redemption of her grandmother's ring from the pawnshop, years after first being forced to part with it."
"Investors closely tracked the fund's redemption rate as a signal of broader market confidence."
How to use it
Redemption in this specific financial sense is precise vocabulary common in banking, investment, and pawnbroking contexts, distinct from but historically related to the word's far more common figurative and religious sense of moral or spiritual recovery.
Related concepts
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