repair

Etymology 1

Coined between 1300 and 1350 from Middle English repairen, from Middle French reparer, from Latin reparō (“renew, repair”).

verb

1. To restore to good working order, fix, or improve damaged condition; to mend; to remedy.
   to repair a house, a road, a shoe, a ship
   to repair a shattered fortune
2. To make amends for, as for an injury, by an equivalent; to indemnify for.
   to repair a loss or damage

noun

1. The act of repairing something.
   I took the car to the workshop for repair.
   One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains.[…]But out of sight is out of mind. And that[…]means that many old sewers have been neglected and are in dire need of repair. 2014-06-14, “It's a gas”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8891
2. The result of repairing something.
   If you look closely you can see the repair in the paintwork.
3. The condition of something, in respect of need for repair.
   The car was overall in poor repair before the accident. But after the workshop had it for three weeks it was returned in excellent repair. But the other vehicle was beyond repair.
   The 1300 class (Nos. 1301-16), one of which was damaged beyond repair in an accident, are Co-Cos, weigh 111 tons and have a top speed of 85 m.p.h. 1962 March, J. M. Tolson, “The Netherlands Railways today—I”, in Modern Railways, page 172
   Thirteen houses were damaged beyond repair, and much of the rest of the town suffered broken windows and lost slates. January 12 2020, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43

Etymology 2

From Middle English repairen (“to return”), from Old French repairier, from Late Latin repatriare (“to return to one's country”), from re- + patria (“homeland”). Cognate to repatriate.

noun

1. The act of repairing or resorting to a place.
   our annual repair to the mountains
2. A place to which one goes frequently or habitually; a haunt.

verb

1. To transfer oneself to another place.
   to repair to sanctuary for safety
   … the train engine uncouples and either backs on to the up through line to await its next duty or repairs to the motive power depot. 1960 April, B. Perren, “Resorts for Railfans -30: Bournemouth”, in Trains Illustrated, page 239

Etymology 3

From re- + pair.

verb

1. To pair again.
   Please try to repair the two earbuds to each other. Place both earbuds back into the charging case, wait for four seconds, then open it and see if they have been repaired with one another.