Rain vs. Rang vs. Reign vs. Rein: A Battle of Four Verbs

Rain (v) to send down in great quantities, as small pieces or objects. From Middle English reinen, meaning...er...rain, also related to Gothic rign.

I was very much looking forward to the Kite Festival this year, unfortunately, one of the most common signs of spring is rain. And rain it did on Saturday morning. So instead, I did laundry and mending and cleaning and shopping and reading. My life is so tough.

Rang (v) simple past tense of ring; to resonate, echo or sound. From Old Norse hringja and German ringen, meaning to wrestle or struggle.

After a lazy weekend, it's been rather difficult to respond to my alarm clock this morning. The funny thing is, I was awake long before it went off, but there's just something about a warm bed and a good book first thing in the morning that makes me not want to move. I think it's just the calm before the storm.

Reign (v) to have control, rule or influence. From Latin noun rēgnum, meaning kingship or royalty.

It's spring break for most of the country, and DC is flooded with tourists. My usually calm Metro stop is now overrun with school groups and families hailing from such exotic places as Milwaukee and Portland. But despite the newcomers not following the etiquette of walk left/stand right on the escalators and forming long lines at the ticket kiosks because they don't understand how the pricing works, I actually enjoy when the tourists take over the city. Mostly because that's when old friends come to visit.

Rein (v) to curb, restrain or control. From Latin retinēre, meaning to hold back.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to corral four children hopped up on Easter candy who have spent four days in a van? Yeah, I'm sure you do. My house is usually such a quiet, peaceful place, but every once in awhile, chaos can be a lot of fun. For the holiday, my roommate's brother brought his four kids on a road trip to visit us from Michigan. Her other brother and his wife are also on their way from North Carolina with their 2-year-old daughter, my friend flies in from California by way of Greece, and my other friend's family took a last-minute trip to Massachusetts so she's driving down from Maryland to spend the weekend. We have a rather full house this Easter, but I wouldn't want it any other way.