Rehydrates

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To bring back moisture to an item that has become dry through dehydration
2. Adds water to a previously dried material to restore its original moisture content
3. Supplies moisture to an object or substance that has lost water to bring it back to a hydrated state

Etymology: "Rehydrates" is the third-person singular present form of the verb "rehydrate," which is simply "re-" attached to "hydrate." The "re-" prefix means "again" or "back," so to rehydrate is to restore water to something that has dried out. The base word "hydrate" was borrowed into English from French "hydrate," which was formed from the Greek "hudōr," meaning "water." That same Greek root gives us "hydrant," "dehydrate," and "hydrogen," which means "water-former." The French word itself combined "hydr-," from Greek "hudro-," with the chemical suffix "-ate," which came through Latin "-atus." Chemists used "hydrate" for a substance that has taken up water into its structure, so the word started as a technical term before spreading into everyday speech. Because "rehydrate" is a straightforward compound of "re-" and "hydrate," its history is essentially that of "hydrate" plus the English prefix, which needs no further explanation.

Synonyms: restore, revive, replenish, moisten, reconstitute

Antonyms: dehydrate, dry, desiccate, wither, dissolve