Refamiliarise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make someone or something known or comfortable again after a period of unfamiliarity, such as bringing a skill back to mind
2. To restore acquaintance with a subject, place or person that had been forgotten or grown strange through lack of contact
3. To acquaint oneself or others once more with something that has become unfamiliar over time through disuse or absence

Etymology: "Refamiliarise" is a plain compound built from three parts. The core is "familiar," which English took from Latin "familiaris," meaning "of the household" or "belonging to the family," from "familia." The sense of "well known" grew out of that domestic root: what is familiar is what is part of your everyday household of knowledge. The prefix "re-" adds the idea of doing something again, so to refamiliarise is to make someone or something familiar once more, typically after a gap in contact or knowledge. The suffix "-ise," the British spelling of "-ize," turns the adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become" a certain state, as in "civilise" or "modernise."

Synonyms: reacquaint, refamiliarize

Antonyms: unfamiliarise, estrange