Readdressing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of directing something again or differently, such as correcting an address or reconsidering a topic
2. Refers to the process of dealing with an issue another time or changing the way something is addressed
3. Involves repeating the action of sending to an address or reviewing a matter with new attention

Etymology: Adding "re-" to "address" produces "readdress," and the story of "address" is the more interesting part. It comes from the Old French "adrecier," meaning to set something straight or direct it toward a goal, and that verb grew from Vulgar Latin "dīrēctiāre," which traces back to Latin "dīrēctus," "made straight." So at its root, to address something was to make it straight, aimed correctly at its target, and a letter's address was once literally the direction you pointed it. The "re-" prefix, borrowed through French from Latin and meaning "again" or "back," is what turns this into a second go at the same task. "Readdress" therefore means to aim something again, or to redirect it, which is why the sense has widened to cover dealing with a problem anew. The English form took shape as "addressen" in Middle English before settling into the modern spelling.

Synonyms: rewriting, revising