Regrowing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Developing new growth after a part has been removed or harmed
2. Producing fresh growth to replace something lost or damaged
3. Renewing or restoring growth following injury or removal

Etymology: "Regrowing" is the present participle of "regrow", so it describes the act of growing again. The verb is simply the prefix "re-" attached to "grow", and the two parts carry their meanings intact: "re-" signals repetition or return, and "grow" comes from Old English "growan", meaning to increase in size or to sprout. The prefix has a longer road into English. It descends from Latin "re-", which English took up through Old French "re-", and it reached Middle English in that form before settling into the productive English prefix it is today. Because "re-" can attach to nearly any verb, "regrow" and its forms are straightforward English formations rather than borrowings.

Synonyms: growing back, renewing

Antonyms: losing, decreasing