Reclass

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To change the classification or category of something; to assign a different rank, group, or status to an item or entity; the process of altering its original designation or type
2. The act of modifying how something is categorized or labeled; reassigning it to a new class, group, or category; updating its classification for organizational or administrative purposes
3. Changing the category or grouping of an object or concept; reallocating it within a different class or status; the procedure of revising its classification to reflect new criteria or standards

Etymology: "Reclass" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning again or anew, attached to "class," so the verb means to put something into a class again, under new criteria. "Class" itself came into English from French and ultimately from Latin "classis," a term for a division of the Roman people, and the "re-" prefix has been productive in English since the early modern period for forming new verbs of this kind. Because the word is built transparently from two familiar parts, its meaning follows directly from them. To reclass something is to sort it into a different category than before, usually because the rules for categorizing have changed. The same logic lies behind the noun form and the procedure it names: a reclassification of a species, a document, or a job title is simply a second sorting.

Synonyms: reclassify, reclassing