Rewarming

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of increasing temperature in a cold object or organism to restore warmth following cooling or diminished heat levels
2. The procedure of elevating the thermal state of something that has become cold, often to ensure safety or improve functionality
3. The process of making something warmer after it has cooled down to restore comfort or usability

Etymology: "Rewarming" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back to a former state," attached to "warm." The verb "warm" has been in English since Old English, when the form "wiermanwas" ... Let me restate that carefully. The verb "warm" descends from Old English "wiermian" and "wearmian," which came from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to be warm," ultimately rooted in the Proto-Indo-European base for heat. Middle English shortened it to "warmen," and it settled into the modern "warm" by the end of the medieval period. The prefix "re-" traveled a longer road. It came into English from Old French "re-" and, before that, from Latin "re-," which carried the sense of backward motion or repetition. English has used it freely for centuries, so "rewarm" was built from two familiar parts with no special coinage behind it. The meaning follows directly: to make something warm again after it has cooled.

Synonyms: heating, warming, reheating