reconcile, v.
(ˈrɛkənsaɪl)
Forms: 4–6 reconsile, (5 -syle, 6 -cyle), 4– reconcile (also 4–5 recounsile, -syle, -cile, 7 Sc. -ceal).
[ad. F. réconcilier (12th c.) or L. reconcili-āre, f. re- re- + conciliāre to conciliate. See also recounsel v.]
I. 1. a. trans. To bring (a person) again into friendly relations to or with (oneself or another) after an estrangement.
| 13.. Propr. Sanct. (Vernon MS.) in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LXXXI. 315/133 Þis ilke holi chirche..þat god in his sone..To him-self Reconciled, hit was clene vndefuiled. 1382 Wyclif 2 Cor. v. 19 God was in Crist, reconcilynge to him the world. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 191 Oure lady delyuer vs from all our wyckednesses, reconsylynge vs to thy moste pyteous sonne. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 426 b, They..reconcile hym to Marques Albert. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. viii. 72 Follow me souldiers, wee'l deuise a meane, To reconcile you all vnto the King. 1879 Dixon Windsor II. x. 105 The king's desire to reconcile his cousin with his friend. |
| transf. 1849 De Quincey Mail-Coach Wks. 1897 XIII. 324 Battle-fields that, long since, nature had healed and reconciled to herself with the sweet oblivion of flowers. |
b. refl.| 1535 Coverdale Tobit viii. 4 These thre nightes wil we reconcyle oure selues with God. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. lxviii. 139 They returned to the king of Coching, with whom they reconcyled themselues. 1675 H. Nevile tr. Machiavelli's Prince Wks. 207 The Ursini reconciled themselves to him, by the mediation of Seignor Paulo. 1819 Shelley Cenci i. i. 36 Thou mightst..reconcile thyself with thine own heart And with thy God, and with the offended world. |
c. In
pass., without specified agent.
| c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 17 It suffiseth þat þou go out of ire and be recounsilid in herte wiþ him. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. (Rolls) 247 Dreding that if the duke were reconciled onto the Kyng, it wold bring him onto grete schame. 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle iv. (1560) 31 God is reconciled, and at one with al Christian men, through his sonne. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras iv. 31 If she tooke any displeasure at him, the King was faine to flatter, that she might be reconciled to him againe. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. i. (1841) I. 20 [He] is reconciled to them, as though they had not sinned against him. 1876 M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. I. 8 When this father died, reconciled to his only son at the last [etc.]. |
| transf. a 1652 J. Smith Sel. Disc. (1821) 492 Light and darkness..can never..be reconciled one to the other. 1671 Milton P.R. iv. 413 Fierce rain with lightning mixt, water with fire In ruine reconcil'd. 1688 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., He cannot be reconciled with Tobacco (he cannot endure it). |
† d. To recommend, make agreeable.
Obs. rare.
| 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §98 His courtesy and affability..marvellously reconciled [him] to all men. Ibid. §105 The Treasurer's talent in removing prejudice and reconciling himself to wavering and doubtful affections. |
2. a. To win over (a person) again to friendship with oneself or another.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 405 Iason reconsilede and took aȝen his wif Medea wiþ his stepsone Medus. 1494 Fabyan Chron. v. cxxvii. 108 Wherfore by fayre and easy meanes he called home his sone and recouncilid hym, and forgaue all trespace. a 1547 Surrey in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 29 An eye..Frendes to allure, and foes to reconcile. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. iii. 151 Till we can finde a time To..reconcile your Friends, Beg pardon of thy Prince, and call thee backe. a 1700 Dryden Iliad i. 430 To reconcile the shooter God, Within her hollow Sides the sacrifice he stow'd. 1712 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to W. Montagu 9–11 Dec., Lord Halifax..says..he..will take pains to reconcile my F[ather]. 1813 Scott Rokeby iv. xxi, He came in secret to inquire Her state and reconcile her sire. 1833 Tennyson Lotos-Eaters 126 Let what is broken so remain. The Gods are hard to reconcile. |
b. In
pass., without specified agent.
| c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶216 Thou shalt eschue the conseillyng of thyne olde enemys that been reconsiled. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vi. cxcvii. 203 Elfricus..fled as a false traytour, and after that reconsyled, fled the seconde tyme to the Danys. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 39 Let him live Before thee reconcil'd. 1847 Tennyson Princ. vii. 73 Nor did her father cease to press my claim, Nor did mine own now reconciled. |
3. To set (estranged persons or parties) at one again; to bring back into concord, to reunite (persons or things) in harmony.
| 1429 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 145 Eschew flatery.., Folkes reconsile that stonde desolate. 1495 Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. x. iii. (W. de W.) 373 Though the elementes ben neuer so contrary eueryche to other yet by influence of heuen and vertue of planetes they ben reconsyled in theyr dooynges and broughte to acorde. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. i. i. 467 Let it be mine honour..That I haue reconcil'd your friends and you. 1681 T. Jordan London's Joy 8 Till an Invasion make them Friends too late, And Reconcile in Ruine. a 1727 Newton Chronol. Amended ii. (1728) 227 An embassador who reconciled two contending nations. 1782 Cowper Lily & Rose 25 Thus sooth'd and reconciled, each seeks The fairest British fair. 1877 Froude Short Stud. (1883) IV. i. vii. 80 Lewis and Henry were reconciled amidst general satisfaction and enthusiasm. |
† 4. To bring (a person) back
to,
into peace, favour, etc. Also
refl. Obs.| 1382 Wyclif 1 Esdras iv. 31 If she were wroth to hym, he glosith, to the time that he be recounsilid in to grace. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶39 Somme of hise olde enemys reconsiled..to his loue and in to his grace. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 261 For them..whiche..be at discorde & debate, to reconsyle them to peace & concorde. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 7/1 Earle Walteof, who had..slaine manie Normans with his owne hands, was reconciled into the kings fauour. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, ii. i. 59, I desire To reconcile me to his Friendly peace. |
† 5. a. To bring back, restore, or readmit to the Church,
spec. the Church of Rome. (In later use also with
const. from).
Obs.| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 317 Þe pope Iustinus reconcilede þe bisshoppes þat Anastacius hadde exciled. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 93 If þei mend by þe penaunce of þe kirk [they may] be recounsilid. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1533) II. 47 b/1 The albygensis..had ben effected with dyuers poyntes of herysy, and many tymes reconcyled by the kynges of Fraunce. ? 1567 Norton Bull granted to Harding B j, The Pope..hath graunted to Doctor Harding..a certain authoritie..to reconcile Englishmen to the bosome of the Romane Chirch. 1607 Drewrie's Arraignm. in Harl. Misc. (1745) III. 39/1 Being made Priest by Authority deriued from the Pope..to reconcile, seduce, and alienate loyall Subiects Harts from Loue..and Dutie to their Soueraigne. a 1625 Sir H. Finch Law (1636) 223 To put in vre any bull, or instrument of absolution, or reconciliation from Rome, or to take vpon one..to absolue or reconcile any person. |
† b. pass. and refl. To become united
to a church.
Obs. Perh. sometimes associated with sense 1 or 8.
| 1639 Drummond of Hawthornden Conv. w. B. Jonson Wks. (1711) 224 Ben Johnson..was 12 years a papist; but after this he was reconciled to the church of England. 1689 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 597 The house of commons have thought fitt to committ Sir Edward Hales and Obadiah Walker for high treason in reconcileing themselves to the church of Rome. 1700 Ibid. IV. 662 The countesse of Jersey, who was a Roman catholick, is said to be reconciled to the church of England. 1769 Blackstone Comm. IV. 555 Where a person is reconciled to the see of Rome, or procures others to be reconciled, the offence amounts to high Treason. 1840 Act 3 & 4 Vict. c. 52 §6 If..Prince Albert shall..be reconciled to or shall hold Communion with the See or Church of Rome. |
c. refl. [After
It. riconciliarsi.] To confess (oneself).
rare—1.
| 1869 Browning Ring & Bk. xii. 181 He turned to the confessor, crossed And reconciled himself, with decency. |
6. Eccl. a. To purify (a church, etc.) by a special service after profanation.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶891 (Ch. Ch. MS.) If the chirche be halewed..the chirche is entredited til it be reconsiled by the bysshope. c 1440 Jacob's Well 130 Whanne þou dost violens in halwyd place..þanne þou diffoulyst þe place, þat it nedyth to be reconsyled aȝen. 1535 Coverdale Lev. xvi. 20 Whan he hath made an ende of reconcylinge the Sanctuary. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 257 Upon the burial of an heretick within the precincts the Church must be reconciled. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Reconciliari, A church is said reconciliari, to be reconciled, when it is consecrated afresh, after having been polluted or profaned; as by the possession of pagans, heretics, etc. 1884 Catholic Dict. s.v. Desecration, If any of the cases cited above have occurred,..the church or cemetery cannot be used till it has been purified or reconciled by the bishop. |
† b. To restore to purity, to absolve or cleanse.
| c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 102 The sacrament is justly consecrate,..Reconsilyng us when we trespas or erre. 1535 Coverdale Ps. l[i]. 7 O reconcile me with Isope, and I shal be clene: wash thou me, and I shalbe whyter than snow. |
† c. To expiate, atone for.
Obs.| 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. iii. 14 This wickednes of y⊇ house of Eli shall not be reconcyled..with sacrifice. ― Ecclus. xxvii. 21 As for woundes they maye be bounde vp agayne, and an euell worde maye be reconcyled. 1575 Brieff Disc. Troub. Franckford 180 As water quencheth burninge fire, so dothe mercie reconcile synnes. |
† d. absol. To make atonement.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1539 Bible (Great) Lev. vi. 30 And no synne offrynge..brought into the tabernacle of witnesse to reconcyle with all in the holy place, shal be eaten. |
† 7. To conciliate, recover (a person's favour, etc.); to gain (credit).
Obs.| 1390 Gower Conf. v. 1742 a, His Sone..haþ his grace reconciled ffro which þe man was ferst exiled. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. 33 To rest themselves, and grace to reconcile. 1609 Hume Admonit. in Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 585 That..the Prince's..unfainzed favour [might be] reconcealed. 1665 Glanvill Def. Van. Dogm. 80 That they might reconcile credit to their writings upon him. |
8. a. To bring into a state of acquiescence (
† with) or submission
to a thing. Also
refl. and with
inf.| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 8 Hee cries out, no more; reconciles them to his entreatie, and himselfe to th' drinke. 1677 Miége Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., He could not reconcile himself to do it. 1694 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxi. (ed. 2) §69 Trials often reconcile us to that, which at a distance we looked on with aversion. 1722 De Foe Hist. Plague (1756) 202 People who had been used to join with the Church, were reconcil'd at this Time with the admitting the Dissenters to preach to them. 1753 Hogarth Anal. Beauty 7 How gradually does the eye grow reconciled even to a disagreeable dress. 1838 Lytton Alice i. x, He contrived to reconcile himself to the intended visit. 1879 Froude Cæsar xx. 335 Not subdued only, but reconciled to subjugation. |
| absol. 1795 Montford Castle II. 155 Launcelot..felt quite reconciled at not following our hero. |
b. refl. To settle into position.
| c 1857 Adm. Mends in Life xxii. (1899) 310 A cheer on deck announced the ship afloat, and by the time I reached the deck she was just reconciling herself between the bowers. |
II. 9. a. To adjust, settle, bring to agreement (a controversy, quarrel, etc.).
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 138 The word this worldes cause entriketh And reconsileth whan him liketh. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 37 He wil have such continual warre with the, as shall never be reconciled. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 161 There is no more hope that wee should meete to reconcile this quarrell. 1699 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) IV. 481 The lords..reconciled a difference between the earls of Peterborough and Orford about the army. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones v. ix, The quarrel was..reconciled. 1863 E. V. Neale Anal. Th. & Nat. 117 Some independent principle, through which to reconcile the opposition of subject and object in the individual. |
† b. To smooth over (an inequality).
Obs.—1.
| 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 64 Grass-plots..that serve to reconcile the Inequality of two Pieces of Ground. |
10. a. To make (discordant facts, statements, etc.) consistent, accordant, or compatible with each other.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 180 b, They..have reconcyled dyverse and weyghty articles of doctryne. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 139 Such welcome, and vnwelcom things at once, 'Tis hard to reconcile. 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. ii. (1703) 145 Conscience and covetousness are never to be reconciled: like fire and water, they always destroy each other. 1759 Sterne Tr. Shandy I. xxii, Two contrary motions are introduced, and reconciled which were thought to be at variance with each other. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. 57 In this respect, as in others, they present two aspects, which it is not easy to reconcile, and neither of which can be shown to be absolutely false. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. App. 530 The only means of reconciling the different accounts. |
| absol. 1675 Baxter Cath. Theol. ii. i. 88 Let me hear what your own conceptions are of the matter, if they tend to elucidate or reconcile. |
b. Accountancy. To establish the consistency of (one account)
with another,
esp. by allowing for transactions made or begun but not yet fully recorded (as when a cheque has been issued but not yet presented for payment).
Cf. reconciliation 4 b.
| 1900 W. W. Snailum Fifteen Studies in Book-Keeping xi. 122 At the end of each financial period it will be necessary to ‘reconcile’ the bank account... This is effected by means of a ‘reconciliation statement’. 1930 A. Palmer Munro's Book-Keeping & Accountancy (ed. 10) 26 The Bank Pass Book..would show a balance at the credit of {pstlg}174, which would be reconciled as follows. 1947 [See reconciliation 4 b]. 1970 R. W. Wallis Accounting v. 66 Reconciliations may also establish the accuracy of the different parts of the accounting system within an organization, for example by reconciling the debtor's control account in the ledger with the total of the individual accounts in the sales (debtors) ledger. |
11. a. To make (an action, condition, quality, etc.) compatible or consistent in fact or in one's mind
with another; to regard as consistent
with. Also
const. to.
| 1624 Bp. H. King Epit. Ld. Dorset, A soul..That reconciled the sword unto the pen, Using both well. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. i. iv. §4. 46 But God hath pleased to reconcile his glory with our eternal benefit. 1769 Junius Lett. ix. 40 It was hardly possible for you to reconcile your political interest with your duty. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas viii. i. ¶2 There was no reconciling such a frosty reception with the glowing portrait ascribed to this paragon. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §6 Every day made it harder for a Catholic to reconcile Catholicism with loyalty to his Queen. |
b. To make (a theory, statement, author, etc.) agree
with another or with a fact; to show to be in agreement
with. Also
const. to.
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage i. xiii. 60 It breedes much difficultie, to reconcile the ancient historie of the Babylonian..Empire, with the kingdomes and Kings in that Chapter. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. v. §2 Thus we see..that it is possible to reconcile some of the ægyptian extravagant accounts to some probability and consistency with truth. 1729 Butler Serm. Compassion Wks. 1874 II. 54 note, A plain matter of fact, which men cannot reconcile with the general account they think fit to give of things. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) VII. 260 It is impossible..to reconcile those contents to the facts I have to communicate. 1884 tr. Lotze's Metaph. 201 To show by what general line of thought my view of space might be reconciled with the particular facts of Nature. |
c. ellipt. without
const.| 1656 Bramhall Replic. i. 1 Yet there is one thing which I cannot reconcile [etc.]. a 1658 Cleveland Wks. (1687) 182 Who reconcil'd the Covenant's doubtful sence. 1761 Foote Liar ii. Wks. 1799 I. 302 But suppose, Sir, there should be an unsurmountable objection? O. Wild. Oh, leave the reconciling that to me; I am an excellent casuist. |
d. To bring (a thing)
to form etc.
rare.
| 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. i. 174 Some figures monstrous and mis-shap'd appear, Consider'd singly, or beheld too near, Which..Due distance reconciles to form and grace. |
12. To make even or smooth, or fit together so as to present a uniform surface.
| a 1687 [see reconciled ppl. a. b]. 1793 [see reconciling ppl. a. b]. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 140 To reconcile, to make one piece of work answer fair with the moulding or shape of the adjoining piece; and, more particularly, in the reversion of curves. 1875 [see reconciling vbl. n. b]. |
† III. 13. intr. To become reconciled.
Obs.| 1666 Abp. Sancroft Occas. Serm. 104 Your Thoughts though much startled at first, by degrees reconcile to it. 1683 Crowne City Politiques iv. i, For shame, reconcile, pray reconcile. 1756 H. Walpole Let. to Mann 19 Sept., He..abuses Count Bruhl with so much contempt, that one reconciles to him very fast. |
Hence
ˌreconciˈlee, one who is reconciled;
ˈreconˌcileless a., that cannot be reconciled.
| 1876 Egan tr. Heine's Atta Troll, etc. 38 Be the mortal foe of all such Fierce oppressors, reconcileless. 1894 Lloyd Wealth agst. Commw. 67 The ‘reconciler’ to enforce the provisions that the ‘reconcilees’ should not engage in business elsewhere, extended a system of espionage over them. |