Reengraved

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. To carve or inscribe a design or text once more onto a surface that has been previously engraved, restoring or altering the original markings
2. The act of making fresh engravings over an existing one to renew, modify, or emphasize the original etched pattern or inscription
3. Redefining or reapplying engraved lines onto a material that already bears an earlier carving, often for correction or enhancement purposes

Etymology: "Reengraved" is simply the past tense and past participle of "reengrave," which is formed by attaching the prefix "re-", meaning "again," to "engrave." The prefix keeps its ordinary sense here: to reengrave something is to cut the same design or lettering into it once more, perhaps because the original has worn away or been damaged. "Engrave" itself comes from the Old French "engraver," built from "en-" ("in") and "graver" ("to carve"), and the "graver" half is the same root that gives English "graver," a sharp cutting tool. So at its core the word is a layered act of cutting: the first "engrave" cuts into a surface, and "re-" makes the cutting happen a second time.

Synonyms: recarved, reinscribed, reetched, reworked, redesigned

Antonyms: engraved, unedited, original