Reassemble

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˌɹiːəˈsɛmbəl/

Definitions

1. To restore a broken or disassembled object to its original condition by putting its parts together again
2. To combine the separate elements of an item back into a single entity after they have been taken apart
3. To join the separated pieces of something to bring it back to its former whole

Etymology: "Reassemble" is simply "assemble" with the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back". The more interesting story is in "assemble" itself, which traces to a Latin verb built from "ad-" ("to") and a root meaning "together" or "same," which is also the source of "similis" ("like"). Latin combined these into "assimulare," meaning to make similar or bring into likeness, and by way of Medieval Latin and Old French it became "assembler," meaning to bring things together into one place. English borrowed "assemble" in the Middle Ages, so the word is far older than the modern sense of fitting parts together, which only came to dominate later. The core idea remains the same: gathering separate things into one group. "Reassemble" adds the notion of doing that a second time, so a broken machine or a scattered crowd can be brought back into a whole.

Synonyms: reconstruct, put back together, restore, rebuild, reorganize

Antonyms: disassemble, break apart, dismantle, scatter, disperse