Redescribing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of rephrasing previously communicated thoughts using varied expressions
2. The process of explaining or stating something anew using alternative wording
3. Reformulating ideas or information by changing the wording without altering meaning

Etymology: "Redescribing" is the present participle of "redescribe," which joins the prefix re- ("again, anew") to "describe." "Describe" came into English from Latin "describere," meaning "to copy out" or "to delineate," built from "de-" (down) and "scribere" (to write). Its earliest sense was therefore closer to writing something out in full than to characterising it in words. The prefix re- arrived in English through Old French, which had itself borrowed it from Latin, where it carried the same sense of repetition. Put together, "redescribe" means to describe something once more, often with different wording, so the verb's core idea is simply doing the act of describing a second time.