Redescriptions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of describing something in a new or different way
2. A reinterpretation or reformulation of an existing description to provide fresh insights
3. The formulation of an explanatory account that alters how something is perceived or understood

Etymology: "Redescriptions" is the plural of "redescription", a noun formed by attaching the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "anew", to "description". The prefix is productive in English, so a redescription is simply a description made once more, often from a fresh angle. "Description" itself comes from Latin "descriptio", a noun built on "describere", meaning "to write down or outline", from "de-" (down) and "scribere" (to write). The plural form reflects the noun's common use for multiple separate acts of re-describing, as when scholars offer several new accounts of the same object, species, or text. Because the base word is already a familiar term, the formation needs no special explanation: the meaning follows directly from the two parts.