Resharpening

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of sharpening something again after it has dulled
2. the process of refining or enhancing the edge or point of a tool or instrument that has lost its effectiveness
3. a technique used to restore the original sharpness to blades or cutting implements that have become worn or blunt

Etymology: Resharpening is simply the present participle and gerund of "resharpen", which combines the prefix "re-", meaning again, with "sharpen". The base word "sharpen" is built from "sharp" and the verb-forming suffix "-en", so the whole chain is a transparent stack of parts: sharp, to sharpen, to sharpen again. The prefix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from Latin "re-", which carried the sense of repetition or backward motion, and it reached English by way of Old French, which inherited it from Latin and passed it into Middle English. English then attached it freely to native verbs, which is why "re-" now sits on everything from "rewrite" to "rebuild" and "resharpen". The word is a regular formation, so there is no separate coinage or first recorded use to report beyond the general history of its parts.

Synonyms: re-grinding, refining, polishing, honing, sharpening