Reorganise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To change the order or structure of something to improve its arrangement or efficiency
2. To modify the organization or grouping of elements in a different way
3. To adjust the layout or system of parts by placing them anew or in a different sequence

Etymology: "Reorganise" is about as transparent as English gets: it is simply the prefix "re-" ("again, anew") attached to "organise." The more interesting story lies in the older word. The Greek "organon" meant an instrument or tool, and from it Latin took "organum," which covered tools, implements and, later, musical instruments. Its sense of a body of parts working together grew out of that idea of a tool made of working pieces. The verb "organise" took shape in medieval Latin as "organizare," formed with the Greek-derived suffix "-izein," which turns a noun into a verb meaning "to make into or treat in such a way." Middle French then adopted it as "organiser," and it passed into Middle English before the modern spelling settled. So "reorganise" is an English formation of re- added to a verb that had already travelled through several languages, meaning to arrange a set of parts into a new order.

Synonyms: rearrange, restructure, reorder

Antonyms: disorganize, scatter