Reposition

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To move something from one place to another or to change its position
2. To change the location or arrangement of an object or item
3. To place an object in a new or different position or location

Etymology: Reposition is a plain compound: the prefix "re-" ("again" or "back") attached to "position," so the verb literally means to place something back into a position, or to put it somewhere new. The prefix comes from Latin "re-," which traces back to a much older root shared with words meaning "back" in other Italic languages. "Position" itself arrived in English through Old French from Latin "positio," meaning a placing or setting down, so the two halves of the word are both ultimately about putting things in place. The modern sense of "move somewhere else" is a looser extension of the original idea. Where "position" focuses on the spot something occupies, "reposition" shifts attention to the act of relocating it, which is why the word now turns up so often in business and military talk about changing a product's market or moving forces to a new area.

Synonyms: relocate, move, shift, rearrange, adjust