Rethatch

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To replace the straw or reed covering on a roof with fresh thatch, restoring the roof's weatherproof finish
2. Renewing the thatched covering of a cottage or barn roof by laying new straw or reed over the old
3. Putting a new layer of thatch on a roof that has worn out, so that it keeps out rain and weather again

Etymology: "Rethatch" is simply the prefix "re-", meaning "again", attached to "thatch", the word for a roof covering of straw, reed or similar material. To rethatch is to strip an old thatched roof and cover it with new material, so the word describes a plain, practical job rather than a coinage with a story behind it. The "re-" prefix passed into English through Latin, where it meant "back" or "again", and reached English along a route through Old French, which the source traces via Middle English. The base word "thatch" is older still and is native English, so the whole word is a mix of a borrowed prefix and an inherited root.