Regrew

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To resume or initiate growth again after a previous decline or cessation of development
2. To develop new growth after being removed or damaged
3. To sprout or increase in size anew following a period without growth

Etymology: "Regrew" is the simple past of "regrow," so it describes growth that came back after having stopped or been cut away. The verb is built from the prefix "re-," meaning again, attached to "grow," an ordinary English word with Old English roots. Its sense is therefore literal and transparent: a plant, a limb, or a business that grows a second time. The prefix is the more interesting part of the history. "Re-" traces back through Latin, where it carried the sense of back or again, and passed into English largely through Old French, which had absorbed the Latin form. English then used it freely to form new verbs on native stems, so "regrow" is a combination of an inherited English verb with a French-influenced prefix, rather than a word borrowed whole.

Synonyms: regenerated, recovered, reclothed, reformed, revived

Antonyms: diminished, reduced, lost, withdrew, withered