Repurposes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Uses an object or material for a different purpose than originally intended
2. Adapts an item to serve a function other than its initial design
3. Converts something to fulfill a new role or use distinct from its first

Etymology: "Repurposes" is the third-person singular form of the verb "repurpose," so the real subject is the verb itself: to give an existing thing a new job. The verb is built from two English parts. "Purpose" came into English from Old French "purpos," itself from the Latin "propositum," meaning something put forward or intended, and the prefix "re-" (again, back, anew) was attached to it to form "repurpose." The "re-" prefix has an even longer ancestry, traceable back through Latin "re-" to a very old root meaning "back" or "again." It is one of the most productive prefixes in English, which is why it can be attached to almost any verb. Its job here is simple: it signals that the purpose is being given a second time, usually to something that already had a first purpose.

Synonyms: reuses, reassigns, redirects, reallocates, modifies