Redials

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Dials a telephone number once more, usually after a call failed, went unanswered or was cut off
2. Places a fresh call to a number that was just tried, often to reach someone who did not pick up
3. Repeats the act of entering a telephone number so that the connection can be attempted again

Etymology: "Redials" is the third-person singular form of "redial", a verb meaning to dial a telephone number again. The verb is a simple combination of "re-", meaning "again", and "dial", so its meaning follows directly from its parts. The formation dates from the telephone era, when people dialled numbers with a rotary or push-button pad and needed a single word for repeating the call. "Dial" itself has a longer story. It comes through Middle English from Medieval Latin "diālis", meaning daily, derived from Latin "dies", day. The sense of a clock face came from the idea of marking the passing of the day, and the telephone dial later borrowed that round face for its finger-wheel. Because "re-" and "dial" are both English-recognisable parts, the verb needed no borrowing of its own.

Synonyms: call back, ring again