Recaptured

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Taken back possession of something that was previously lost or captured
2. Regained control over something that had been seized or lost
3. Recouped or reclaimed ownership or control after it was lost

Etymology: "Recaptured" is the past tense and past participle of "recapture," so the real story belongs to the verb itself. "Capture" came into English from Old French, which took it from Latin "captura," a noun built on "capere," meaning "to take" or "to seize." That Latin root is also behind words like "capable" and "captive," all of them tied to the idea of grabbing or holding something. The prefix "re-" does the work here. It comes from Latin, where it means "again" or "back," and English attached it to "capture" to form a word meaning to take something back after it has been lost. The sense of regaining control, rather than simply seizing something new, is carried entirely by that small prefix.

Synonyms: reclaimed, regained, rescued

Antonyms: lost, abandoned