Reimplement

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To carry out or execute again a process, system, or software by creating a new version or approach that serves the same function
2. To redo the development or construction of a method, program, or plan using different techniques or code to replicate the intended outcomes
3. To reconstruct or reproduce an existing procedure, application, or design by implementing it anew, often with modifications or improvements aimed at achieving similar goals

Etymology: "Reimplement" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-" ("again") attached to "implement," meaning to carry out or put into effect. Put together, it means to carry out a process or build a system a second time, usually to replace or improve an earlier version. The prefix itself traces back through Latin "re-" to an ancient root meaning "back" or "again," so the word's oldest part is far older than the software and engineering context it is most often used in today. "Implement" arrived in English through Old French from the Medieval Latin "implementum," which meant something filled in or supplied. Its noun sense of a tool came later, and the verb sense of carrying out a plan developed from it. Adding "re-" produced a verb that is easy to build but only became common once replacing systems became a routine part of work.

Synonyms: reinstate, reintroduce

Antonyms: withdraw, abolish