Rewelding

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The process of applying heat and pressure to a previously welded joint again to improve its strength or repair defects; the act of fusing metal parts once more after an initial weld ; reheating and solidifying metal connections to restore or enhance the bond between components
2. The act of undergoing a secondary welding procedure to reinforce or correct an original welded seam ; a method involving reheating and melting metal at a joint to ensure durability; repairing welds by repeating the welding operation
3. Performing welding a second time on an existing weld to strengthen or fix it; rejoining metals by reheating and melting again; the technique of making additional weld passes over a prior weld to achieve better cohesion

Etymology: "Rewelding" is simply the present participle and gerund of "reweld", which is formed from the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back", attached to "weld". The base verb "weld" goes back to the Middle English "well" or "wel", a form of the same process that joined metals by heating them until they fused, and it is related to the older sense of working metal under heat rather than to any idea of joining things in general. Adding "re-" produces the sense of welding a second time, whether to repair a joint that failed or to strengthen one that was too weak the first time. The prefix "re-" is one of the most productive in English, and it attaches freely to technical verbs when a process needs repeating. Because welding can be done in multiple passes, rewelding is a practical necessity in metalwork, and the compound describes the action without needing any special coinage.

Synonyms: resoldering, refusing, rejoining