2020-12-25
ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด R – reign & rein
แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง Reign & rein = ‘REYN’
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree
reign
= exercise of sovereign power; widespread influence:
He reigns supreme.
Not to be confused with:
rain = water falling to earth in drops: Soon it’s going to rain.
rein = a leather strap fastened to the bit of a bridle;
a means of restraint: Rein in your anger.
COLLINS ENGLISH DICTIONARY
USAGE FOR REIGN
Reign is sometimes wrongly written for rein in certain phrases:
he gave full rein (not reign) to his feelings;
it will be necessary to rein in (not reign in) public spending
Common Errors In English Usage Dictionary
Reign & rein
A king or queen reigns,
but you rein in a horse.
The expression “to give rein” means to give in to an impulse
as a spirited horse gives in to its impulse to gallop when you slacken the reins.
Similarly, the correct expression is “free rein,” not “free reign."
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
'Free Rein' or 'Free Reign'?
The phrase does not make you king or queen for the day.
What to Know
Free rein, meaning "unrestricted liberty of action or decision,"
is often misinterpreted as free reign.
The expression free rein originated from horseback riding
and refers to the act of holding the reins
that control the horse loosely so as toallow the horse to freely move along at its own paceand in its desired direction.
Coming here was an opportunity to redevelop the marketplace. I have free reign to build the brand.
— Chris Townson, quoted in Travel Weekly, 15 Dec. 2017
"I was given free reign to redesign the galleries," said Kowalski, who came to the Rockwell in March…."
— Jesse Kowalski, quoted in The Berkshire Eagle, 25 Sept. 2015
In the quotations above,
it is quite possible the writers felt their interviewees possessed
an unbridled royal authority to do as they please.
But what follows "free reign" in the quotes suggests a different intent:
the speakers are referring to the freedom granted to themto do as they choose
—and not to their power as a ruler to do so.
The misinterpretation of the set phrase"free rein"
—referring to unrestricted liberty of action or decision
—as "free reign" is an eggcorn thatwriters struggle with all too often.
Origins of Free Rein
The expression "free rein" originatedas horseback-riding jargon
referring to the act of holding the reins
(the straps by which a rider controls the horse) looselyso as to allow the horse to freely move along atits own pace and in its desired direction. Figurative useof the phrase referring to freedom of action goes back to the 17th century.
The tongues of Angels are not able to expresse what benefits doe redound unto man by the right ordering of the tongue, and what harmes and inconveniences againe, when we give it free reines to lash out.
— Alexander Read, The Chirurgicall Lectures of Tumors and Ulcers, 1635
About two centuries later, the phrase perplexingly begins appearing in print in the form "free reign."
Here we may give free reign to our imagination,
with the moral certainty that science will supply
nothing tending either to prove or to disproveany of its fancies.
— The Salvator and Scientist (Chicago, Illinois), September 1896
Why it begins to appear during a time when the horse was still the primary mode of transportation is puzzling.
On the other hand, in modern times,
misinterpretation of "free rein" as "free reign" is a bit more understandable
—though still grammatically wrong
—after all, how often does the average person handle the reins of a horse?
To those unfamiliar with the equestrian originof the phrase,
reign with its association with monarchy (influenced by the media's obsession with the English Royal Family)
might seem the better choice than a word for straps to control a horse,
and an Internet search will confirm that quite a few people agree.
If you are one of those people,
we would like to offer a couple of mnemonics
to help you mentally autocorrect "free reign"
before it becomes an acceptable (yet still illogical) variant of "free rein."
First, remember that reigning as kingand queen
entails having the freedom to choose and make decisions;
therefore, monarchs have "free rein" during their reign.
Also, there are a handful of other common figurative phrases
originating from a horse's rein that you can associate with "free rein"
if you have a brain cramp.
The supervisor has/keeps a tight rein on every stage of production.
We need to rein in our spending.
She handed over the reins of the company to her successor.
As you can see, rein is the word to use when implying holding back or granting freedom of action;
reign, on the other hand, is reserved for the ruling over a people or land. "Free reign" might sound impressive to you but not to your editor or teacher.
In summary:
Reign is royal authority, the influence and sway of a ruler, or one who resembles a ruler.
Rein is the strap fastened to an animal (such as a horse or mule) by a bit, which allows a rider or driver to control the animal.
If you rule over something you may be said to reign over it.
If you are allowed a great deal of freedom
you might be said to have free rein.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
Do You 'Rein In' or 'Reign In' Something?
Getting a handle on some usage advice
What to Know
The correct phrase for bringing something under control is rein in,
not reign in.
Rein in is an allusion to pulling on the reins of a horse in order to exercise more control.
When something is out of control
—be it a government's spending or your toddler's tantrum
—you might feel the need to talk about
reining that out-of-control thing in
—or would that be reigning it in?
The quick answer is this:
the phrase you want is rein in.
It's an equestrian allusion
—if you rein in a horse, you pull the reins of the horse
—the straps fastened to the bit of a bridle and used by a rider or driver
to guide and control the horse
—tight so that you control where the horse goes and how fast.
The answer would have been far more obvious in the early 20th century, when automobiles had yet to displace their predecessors. In those days, getting somewhere often involved a horse, and as the equestrians among us still know, controlling a horse usually involves using reins.
Origins of 'Rein In'
The noun rein has been in use since the 13th century;
the verb has since the 15th century meant "to control or direct with reins."
It's also been used figuratively for a long time:
Spur them to ruthful work, rein them from ruth!
— Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, 1609
And rein in specifically seems to have begun in figurative use:
… therefore we ought to bee the more incouraged to serue god, sith wee see that wee bee not reined in with so rough a bitte, nor held so short as the fathers of olde time were …— Arthur Golding (translator), The sermons of M. Iohn Caluin vpon the fifth booke of Moses called Deuteronomie…., 1583
In current English,
rein in is used to mean both"to limit or control (something or someone)" and "to make (an animal) stop by using reins."
Meanwhile, reign too is a verb.
It can mean, among other things, "to possess or exercise sovereign power," as in "a queen who reigned for 50 years,"
and "to be predominant or prevalent,"
as in "a classroom where chaos reigns."
It does not, however, have any meanings
relating to limiting or controllingsomeone or something.
