Regenerating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Undergoing a process of growing back or restoring parts that were lost or damaged
2. Experiencing renewal by producing new cells or tissue to replace what has been lost
3. Recovering or restoring original form by forming new material after injury or decay

Etymology: "Regenerating" is the present participle of "regenerate," which comes from Latin "regenerare," meaning "to bring into being again." The Latin verb combines "re-," "again," with "generare," "to beget or produce," from "genus," birth or kind. So the word literally means producing something anew. English borrowed the root idea first as an adjective and past participle, "regenerate," used in religious writing for a spiritual rebirth, and the verb sense of renewing an organism's lost parts came later. The biological meaning in your definition, restoring tissue or structure after injury, grew out of that general sense of being made again.

Synonyms: restoring, reviving, renewing