Rehiring

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of providing employment once more to an individual who was previously part of a workforce
2. The action of restoring a former employee to their previous job position after they have exited the company
3. The act of bringing back an employee who had previously left a job role to reinstate their position within the organization

Etymology: "Rehiring" is the present participle and gerund of "rehire", which is formed from the prefix "re-" meaning "again" and "hire". The base "hire" came into English in Middle English from Old French, where it had the sense of payment or wages, and the "re-" prefix is a Latin element that reached English through French, so the whole word is a straightforward compound of a Latin prefix and an older English-borne verb of French origin. The "re-" in "rehire" carries the same sense it has in words like "reread" or "rebuild": it repeats an action that was done before. Applied to "hire", it means to take someone on again after they have left, which is why the word is most often used of former staff who return to an employer. The verb is a plain formation with no notable coinage story, so its interest lies mainly in how easily English combines a prefix with a borrowed base.

Synonyms: employing again