Rejoin

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈd͡ʒɔɪn/

Definitions

1. To come together again after separation or to reconnect ; to respond or answer in a conversation or debate
2. To unite once more after being apart ; to make a reply or retort during a discussion
3. To reunite following a split or break ; to give a spoken or written response in communication

Etymology: The verb "rejoin" is a sort of etymological double agent. It came into English from Middle French "rejoindre," meaning "to join again," built from "re-" ("again") and "joindre" ("to join"). Yet English already had its own "joinen," so the word arrived twice, once through French and once through English's own machinery, and the two strands merged into a single Middle English verb, "rejoynen." The response sense has an interesting detour. In the sense of answering back, especially in a formal reply, "rejoin" is a doublet of "rejoinder," which came into English as a noun from the same French stem. Lawyers and courtroom writers long used the verb to mean a defendant's reply to the plaintiff's answer, and that legal flavor still clings to it. The two forms, one verb and one noun, are the same word split across two grammatical roles.

Synonyms: reconnect, reunite, return, resume, reassemble

Antonyms: separate, detach, split, divorce