Reallocate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To change the way in which resources, funds, or responsibilities are distributed or allocated among various entities or projects
2. To assign funds, resources, or responsibilities to different purposes or groups than originally intended
3. To transfer or shift resources, duties, or funds from one area or group to another in a different way

Etymology: "Reallocate" is simply "re-" attached to "allocate," so its history is really the history of "allocate." That verb came into English through Old French and Latin. Its ultimate source is the Latin "locare," meaning "to place," which also gave English "locate" and "locus." The Latin prefix "ad-" joined it to form "allocare," meaning to place something toward or to a particular spot, and English borrowed the sense of assigning a share of something to a particular purpose. The prefix "re-" is the ordinary Latin one meaning "again" or "back," so "reallocate" means to place again, which is to say to distribute something a second time, or differently from before. Its formation is a plain English compound: the prefix was added to an existing English verb rather than borrowed as a finished word.

Synonyms: redistribute, reassign