Reclassification

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of assigning a new category to an item, which includes changing its previous classification to reflect updated information or criteria
2. A method that involves the alteration of an entity's classification by placing it into a different category based on revised assessments or data
3. The act of changing the categorization of something based on new information or standards is known as altering its classification

Etymology: Reclassification is a plain formation: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back", attached to "classification." The core word traces to Latin "classis," a division or group of people, which passed into French as "classe" and entered English through French. Its ancestry runs back through the Latin verb "classificare" and the suffix "-fication," which turns a verb into a noun naming the act of doing something. The prefix "re-" carries the sense of doing a thing over again, so reclassification means placing something into categories a second time, usually because the earlier grouping no longer fits. Its meaning therefore depends entirely on the base word, which is why the two parts combine so easily: "re-" was joined to "classification" in English and needed no special history of its own.

Synonyms: redistribution, reassignment, reorganization, remapping

Antonyms: classification, categorization