Reconception

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of forming a new or revised understanding of a concept or idea
2. A process involving the reimagining or reinterpretation of existing notions to align with current perspectives
3. The development of an alternative perspective on established theories or practices to enhance comprehension or application

Etymology: The English word "reconception" is simple in construction: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back," attached to "conception." The prefix itself comes from Latin "re-," and it has been productive in English for centuries, so the new coinage follows an ordinary pattern. What makes it worth a closer look is the word it is built on. "Conception" carries a sense of forming something in the mind, but its roots are physical. It descends from Latin "conceptio," a noun from "concipere," meaning "to take in" or "to take together." That verb is built from "con-" ("together") and "capere" ("to take"), the same root that gives English "capture" and "receive." An idea, in this picture, is something the mind takes in and holds, much as a body receives and holds what it takes in. Because "conception" came into English through Old French and Middle English, its sense of forming an idea was established long before "reconception" appeared. Adding "re-" to it produces the meaning of forming an idea anew, which is why the word fits the rethinking of ideas as a process rather than a single act.

Synonyms: reimagining, reinterpretation, revision, reconsideration, rethinking