- reclaim (v.)
- c.1300, from Old French reclamer "to call back, appeal to" (12c.), from Latin reclamare "cry out against, appeal," from re- "opposite, against" (see re-) + clamare "cry out" (see claim (v.)). Meaning "bring waste land into useful condition" first attested 1764, probably via Middle English meaning "call back a hawk," on notion of "reduce to obedience." Related: Reclaimed; reclaiming.