Rebuilding

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of restoring or reconstructing a damaged entity combines renovation and enhancement to improve its condition and usability
2. Involvement in the process of renewing or reinforcing a structure emphasizes both repair and improvement for increased efficacy
3. The act of creating or restoring something that was damaged or destroyed to bring it back to a usable or improved state

Etymology: Rebuilding is a plain formation: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back", attached to "build". The verb "build" traces back through Middle English "bilden" and Old English "byldan" to a Proto-West Germanic root, and in Old English the verb was itself derived from "bold", meaning "dwelling" or "building." So the core of the word is a very old word for making a home, and "re-" simply adds the sense of doing that job over again. The prefix has a longer path. "Re-" descends from the Latin "re-", which reached English by way of Old French "re-" and then Middle English, where it became a productive prefix attached freely to native English verbs. That is why "rebuild" can sit comfortably beside a Germanic base: the two halves came into English by different routes, one through Latin and French, the other through the older Germanic vocabulary.

Synonyms: restoring, reconstructing, renovating, repairing, revamping

Antonyms: demolishing, destroying, dismantling, ruining, breaking