Repopularizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Brings something back into popularity after it had fallen out of favor with the public
2. Restores the widespread appeal or fashionability of an idea, style, or product that had faded
3. Revives the general approval and demand for a thing that once enjoyed wide acceptance

Etymology: "Repopularizes" is simply the third-person singular present form of "repopularize," which means to make something popular again. The verb is formed from "re-," a prefix meaning "again," attached to "popularize." "Popularize" itself was built on "popular," which came into English in the Middle Ages from Latin "popularis," meaning "of the people" and derived from "populus," the Latin word for people. The suffix "-ize" arrived through a longer chain: it passes from Ancient Greek "-izein" into Late Latin "-izare," then through Old French, and into Middle English as "-isen," later settling into the modern "-ize" spelling. Stacking "re-" onto "popularize" is a straightforward act of word-building, and the result is a verb that describes restoring a former appeal. Its parts are all old and familiar, and the combination reflects how English readily attaches "re-" to almost any verb.

Synonyms: revive, rehabilitate, resurrect