Word Confusion: Rain vs Rein vs Reign

Posted February 24, 2014 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Self-Editing, Word Confusions, Writing

Revised as of
11 July 2023

Fortunately, rain is usually safe. Reign and rein, however . . . Oh. Boy.

I am always running into this word confusion, and it makes me nuts. How can one possibly confuse ruling with restraint? Let alone the obvious that rulers have rarely been known for restraint . . . *eye roll* . . . As it is, I am doing my best to rein in my ire over this reign of confusion that is raining down all over me!

Explore the differences:
Raining in your voice I dunno. You’re making a gargling sound? Spitting?	Reigning in your voice Dude, you rule with that voice of yours!	Reining in your voice Holding back on showing your true voice.
He took up the rains of government. I suppose you could interpret “rains” as the money that seems to shower all over pork barrel projects.	He took up the reigns of government. Whoa. Impressive. Except I’m confused as to whether he’s influencing several countries, prevailing over several rulers, or maybe he’s simply really long-lived and has been dominating a series of rulers in one country??	He took up the reins of government. He took over control of the government.

Explore the differences:

Raining in your voice

I dunno. You’re making a gargling sound? Spitting?

Reigning in your voice

Dude, you rule with that voice of yours!

Reining in your voice

Holding back on showing your true voice.

He took up the rains of government.

I suppose you could interpret “rains” as the money that seems to shower all over pork barrel projects.

He took up the reigns of government.

Whoa. Impressive. Except I’m confused as to whether he’s influencing several countries, prevailing over several rulers, or maybe he’s simply really long-lived and has been dominating a series of rulers in one country??

He took up the reins of government.

He took over control of the government.

Word Confusions . . .

. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

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Rain	Reign	Rein
Absolutely Pouring Rain by Peter Janzen is under the CC0 1.0 license, via cc0. — Yep, that’s rain, all right.	Tara Wheeler was Crowned Miss Virginia 2008 was photographed by Dworlando and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Miss Virginia 2008 reigned all year.	Chevaliers by Léon Abry is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — She’d better keep a tight hold on those reins!
Part of Grammar:
Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: rains Gerund: raining Third person present verb: rains Past tense or past participle: rained Present participle: raining	Noun ¹; Verb, intransitive ² Plural for the noun: reigns Gerund: reigning Third person present verb: reigns Past tense or past participle: reigned Present participle: reigning	Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: reins Gerund: reining Third person present verb: reins Past tense or past participle: reined Present participle: reining
Noun: Water that condenses from vapor and falls from the sky as drops, i.e., weather Verb, intransitive: To send down rain To fall as water in drops from the clouds To fall like rain Verb, transitive: It may also be applied to anything that appears to fall through the air in quantities: To pour down To give abundantly To rain heavily	To be in control Noun: Period of time in which a person rules over a country, or a team holds onto a title ¹ Dominion, sway, influence of one resembling a monarch Verb, intransitive: Exercise or possess the power of a ruling monarch ² Exercise authority in the manner of a monarch Predominant, prevail To hold office as chief of state although possessing little governing power	Control, restrain Noun: A narrow width of leather allowing the guidance of a four-legged creature, usually a horse or donkey A restraining influence [Usually a plural noun] Controlling or guiding power Opportunity for unhampered activity or use Verb, intransitive: [Archaic] To submit to the use of reins To stop or slow up one’s horse or oneself by or as if by pulling the reins Verb, transitive: The act of guiding a four-legged creature Control or direct with or as if with reins Check or stop by or as if by a pull at the reins
Examples:
Noun: The rain is falling gently from the clouds. He hasn’t the sense to come in out of the rain. We are heading out rain or shine. Verb, intransitive: Soot and ash rained down. Praise rained down on the composer. It rained all night. Tears rained from their eyes. Verb, transitive: It’s raining cats and dogs. It never rains, but it pours. Don’t rain on my parade! She rained curses upon their heads.	Noun: Queen Elizabeth II’s reign has lasted for over 58 years. President Obama’s reign only has two more years left. The reign of digital technology is strong. Digital technology can also be the reign of terror, lol. Verb, intransitive: In America, baseball reigns supreme. Confusion reigned in the ranks of milling soldiers. The lion reigns in the jungle. In England the sovereign reigns but does not rule. Chaos reigned in the classroom.	Noun: Hold the reins for me, will you? She gave full rein to her imagination. She kept a tight rein on her children. Obama is holding tight to the reins of government. Verb, intransitive: Janey prefers a horse that reins well. Verb, transitive: The drover reined in his team. He couldn’t rein in his impatience. She gave him full rein.
Derivatives:
Adjective: rainless Noun: rainfall, rainlessness	Adjective: reigning, nonreigning, unreigning Verb, intransitive: interreign Verb, transitive: outreign	Adjective: reinless, unreined
Phrasal Verb
		rein in
History of the Word:
Its first known use was before the 12th century. Old English regn, rēn, which became the Middle English reyn. Akin to the Old High German regan.	The first known use was in the 13th century. The first known use of the verb was in the 14th century. Middle English regne is from the Anglo-French, which is itself from the Latin regnum, from reg- meaning rex king.	Middle English reine from the Anglo-French resne, reine, from the Vulgar Latin retina, which is from the Latin retinēre, meaning to restrain. Its first known use as a noun was in the 14th century. Its first known use as a verb was in the 15th century.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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