Unpickled

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Restored to its original form after having been reconstructed from a stored, serialized byte representation in a programming context
2. Brought back into usable memory by reversing the serialization process that previously converted an object into a stored format
3. Reconstructed from a preserved byte stream so that the original data structure or object is available again

Etymology: "Unpickled" is simply the past participle or adjective of the verb "unpickle," formed by adding the prefix "un-," meaning "not" or "reverse of," to "pickled." Pickling itself is a very old process of preserving food in brine, vinegar or spirits, so the reversal here is literal: a pickled thing has been taken out of its preserving liquid or had its preservation undone. The prefix "un-" is native English, descending from Old English, and it has long been productive, attaching to participles and adjectives freely. That is why speakers can create a form like "unpickled" on the spot whenever a pickled object is rinsed, removed from its jar or otherwise released from its preserving medium.

Synonyms: unpreserved, uncured

Antonyms: pickled, preserved