Rechew

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To chew something that has already been chewed once before
2. The act of biting and grinding food a second time after initial chewing
3. Reprocessing food in the mouth by chewing it again after the first round of mastication

Etymology: "Rechew" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again", attached to "chew". The prefix itself has a long lineage, traced back to a Proto-Italic root and then to Latin "re-", which carried the same sense of repetition or backward motion. Latin passed it into Old French as "re-", and from there it entered Middle English, where it was attached to native English words freely. "Chew" is the older and more interesting half of the word. It came into English from Old English "ceowan", so it was already in the language long before "rechew" was formed. The verb "rechew" was built simply by joining "re-" to that native stem, so the word needs no special history beyond the combination of the two parts. Its meaning follows directly from them: to chew something again.

Synonyms: masticate again, reconsume