Reimpose

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To put back into effect a rule or requirement that was previously discontinued or withdrawn
2. To restore a previously enacted regulation or policy after it was removed or suspended
3. To enforce a previously removed law, rule, or requirement once more

Etymology: "Reimpose" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again," attached to "impose," so the whole word means to put back something that had been lifted. The verb "impose" itself came into English from Old French, which took it from Latin, where "imponere" combined "in-" ("on, upon") with "ponere" ("to place"). Its literal sense was therefore to place something onto something else, and the sense of forcing a burden or rule on someone grew out of that physical image of setting a weight down on a person. The "re-" prefix has an older lineage than the rest of the word. It descends from a Proto-Italic root and was carried into Latin as "re-," which also shaped many English verbs borrowed through French. Because English treats "re-" as a productive prefix, it can be attached to nearly any verb that makes sense as an action that might be undone, which is why "reimpose" could be formed from "impose" without any special coinage.

Synonyms: reinstate, reintroduce, reestablish, reapply, restore

Antonyms: remove, abolish, lift, repeal, dissolve