The Renaissance
Etymology
From French “renaissance,” “rebirth,” from Latin “re-” (“again”) plus “nasci” (“to be born”). Italians of the era spoke of a “rinascita,” but the French term was cemented as a historical label by 19th-century writers such as Jules Michelet and Jacob Burckhardt. It names the perceived rebirth of Greco-Roman antiquity after the medieval centuries.
noun · /REN-uh-sahns/
The cultural rebirth in Europe, roughly the 14th to 17th centuries, that revived classical art and learning and bridged the medieval and modern worlds.
What it names
It gives a single name to the flowering of art, science, and thought that people still invoke as the model of a golden creative age.
Example
The city’s wealthy bankers bankrolled the painters who defined the Renaissance.
Related idea
Distinguish it from humanism, the intellectual program at its core; the Renaissance is the whole cultural era, while humanism names the specific revival of classical study that drove it.
noun · /REN-uh-sahns/
Any revival or renewed flourishing of something.
What it names
a comeback of interest, activity, or vitality (lowercase).
Example
The neighborhood is enjoying a culinary renaissance.
Related idea
The historical rebirth generalized; a “Renaissance man” is likewise someone gifted across many fields.