Replacements

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of substituting one item for another
2. Items that are provided to take the place of those that are damaged or missing
3. Individuals or things that serve to fulfill a role in absence of the original person or object

Etymology: "Replacements" is the plural of "replacement", a noun built from the verb "replace" plus the suffix "-ment". The verb itself is a compound of the prefix "re-", meaning "back" or "again", and "place". Its ancestry runs through Latin "re-" and the Old French "re-", which joined the Middle English "re-" and the English "place", so the word literally means putting something back in its place. The suffix "-ment" has a longer lineage. It descends from Latin "-mentum", which formed nouns expressing a result or instrument of an action, and reached English through Old French "-ment". English speakers attached it to verbs to name the thing or outcome of the action, so "replacement" names the act or the person or object that puts something back in place.

Synonyms: substitutes, alternatives, successors, surrogates, proxies

Antonyms: originals, predecessors, ancestors