Reconversion

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of returning an entity to its former state involves restoring prior functions that had been modified or adapted
2. This term signifies the process of reverting a system or structure to its earlier condition, often relating to economic or organizational contexts
3. The process of restoring a previous configuration or system entails reversing changes made to its function or structure to reinstate its original characteristics

Etymology: "Reconversion" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back," attached to "conversion," the noun from "convert." "Convert" comes from Latin "convertere," literally "to turn around or turn together," built from "com-" (together) and "vertere" (to turn). The sense of "convert" as changing from one state, form, or belief into another developed from that basic idea of turning. Put the two parts together and "reconversion" means turning something back to the state it was in before. That is why the word is most at home in technical and industrial contexts, where a factory or vehicle is changed from one use to another and then changed back. The meaning in the definition, restoring a system's original characteristics by undoing earlier changes, follows directly from the pairing of "re-" and "conversion."

Synonyms: reconversion, conversion, transformation, restoration, reestablishment