Resplitting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Dividing something once more into separate parts, especially after an earlier division has already taken place
2. Breaking apart a thing a second time so that it forms new separate pieces or portions
3. Cutting or separating again into divisions, as when an object that was previously split is divided anew

Etymology: "Resplitting" is the present participle and gerund of "resplit," which is formed from the prefix "re-," meaning "again" or "back," and the verb "split." Its meaning follows directly from those parts: to split something once more, typically a thing that was already divided, joined, or separated and is being divided again. The prefix "re-" is one of the most productive in English, attaching freely to verbs to signal repetition or reversal, as in "rewrite" or "reload." "Split" is the older base, which entered English from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch "splitten," an element of the same family as Dutch "splijten." Because "re-" is simply added to an existing verb, "resplit" needs no special history of its own, and the meaning stays transparent throughout.