Definition of RENDITION

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Rendition entered English in the early 17th century and can be traced to the Middle French word reddition and ultimately to the Latin verb reddere, meaning "to return." The English verb "render" is another descendant of "reddere," so perhaps it is no surprise that "rendition" fundamentally means "the act or result of rendering." English speakers also once adopted "reddition" itself (meaning either "restitution, surrender" or "elucidation"), but that word has mostly dropped out of use. Incidentally, if you've guessed that "surrender" is also from the same word family, you may be right; surrender derives in part from the Anglo-French rendre, which likely influenced the alteration of "reddition" to "rendition."

Examples of rendition in a Sentence

a moving rendition of an old gospel song a new rendition of the text in English

Recent Examples on the Web

This year, history-rich Boston celebrates America’s 242nd birthday with the 44th rendition of that very event, the Fourth of July Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, known to draw over half a million people. — Cassie Shortsleeve, Condé Nast Traveler, "Where to Watch the 4th of July Fireworks 2018 in Boston," 4 July 2018 In the most recent rendition of the experiment, things went seriously wrong. — Laura Yan, Popular Mechanics, "What Happens When a Mars Simulation Goes Awry?," 23 June 2018 Bacon appears in this rendition, too, but instead of fatty lardons, small cubes of lean Canadian bacon are browned in the skillet to start the dish. — Ellie Krieger, charlotteobserver, "Eggs in a hole, French edition," 12 June 2018 This year marks the 105th edition of the U.S. Open Cup; the 2018 rendition started with 97 teams from professional soccer leagues around the country, including the MLS, USL and the Premier Development League. — Justin Sayers, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville City FC to host Nashville SC in next round of U.S. Open Cup," 7 June 2018 The rabid crowd chanted at the top of its lungs through O Canada … and then die-hards somehow found a way to turn the volume up to 11 as Amirante sang a rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner that no one could hear. — Charles Curtis, For The Win, "Re-live one of the greatest national anthems at any sports game," 17 Apr. 2018 Either way, the phrase has become a rallying cry for English fans, and a rendition of the tune was even played outside Buckingham Palace by the Bands of the Guards Division on Saturday. — Caroline Hallemann, Town & Country, "Prince William Just Told England's World Cup Team "The Whole Country Is Right Behind You"," 11 July 2018 What is particularly funny about this meme is the thought of an unfortunate and experienced flutist being dragged into into a sound booth to perform an out of tune rendition of the Lightning Seeds' legendary tune. — SI.com, "It's Coming Home: 6 of the Best England World Cup Memes of the Summer So Far," 11 July 2018 But today, while attending a service marking the 100th year of the Royal Air Force, Meghan wore a new rendition of her most famous look yet: her Givenchy wedding dress. — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "Meghan Markle Wore The Little Black Dress Version Of Her Wedding Gown," 10 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rendition.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.