Reinvent

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹiːɪnˈvɛnt/

Definitions

1. to create or produce something again in a new or different way, often by fundamentally changing its form or approach
2. to reshape or transform an idea or object fundamentally, often introducing novel elements while maintaining some core aspects
3. to alter the presentation or function of something significantly, thereby giving it a fresh identity or perspective

Etymology: "Reinvent" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "anew," attached to "invent." The prefix traces back through Latin "re-" to an ancient Italic root, and it reached English through Old French, where it was a common way of marking repetition or renewal. "Invent" itself is the older part of the story. It came into English from Old French, which took it from Latin "invenire," meaning "to come upon" or "to find." The original sense was discovery rather than making something new, so an inventor was first someone who came upon or uncovered a thing. The modern sense of devising something novel developed later. Put together, "reinvent" means to find or make something again, and in its modern sense it usually means to redesign something from scratch, as if starting over. The word's logic is simply "invent again," with the older idea of discovery still embedded in its parts.