Reseated

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Placed again into a chair or seat that had been left ; set back into a fitted socket or housing after being removed
2. Put back into a seat once more ; fitted anew into a socket, base or housing from which it had come loose
3. Settled again into a chair or position ; secured once more into a recess or mounting that it had left

Etymology: "Reseated" is the past tense and past participle of "reseat," so its history is that of the verb it inflects. The verb is formed from the prefix "re-", meaning again or back, attached to "seat." The seat itself is an old English word, ultimately linked to the idea of sitting, and "reseat" simply means to put something or someone back into a seat, or to furnish something with a new seat. The prefix "re-" traces back through Latin, where it had the same sense of repetition or return, and reached English largely through Old French. English has used it freely to form new verbs from existing ones, which is why "reseat" needed no special coinage: anyone who could seat a chair could reseat it. The combination is transparent, so the word's meaning comes straight from its two parts.