means A revival or flourishing of art, learning, and culture — most famously the European one that bridged the medieval and modern worlds, though the word now describes any vigorous rebirth.

from From French renaissance, literally 'rebirth,' built from re- ('again') and naissance ('birth'), which traces back through Old French to Latin nascentia, from nasci, 'to be born' — the same root that gives us native, nascent, and nation. The capital-R Renaissance as a name for the historical period was applied long after the fact by later writers looking back on it.