Untranslating

Part of speech: verb, gerund

Definitions

1. The act of reversing or undoing a previous translation to restore original meaning or form; the process of interpreting a text back into its source language or original state; the condition of a message being returned from a translated version to its initial expression
2. Reverting a translated text to its initial language or meaning; the method of decoding a converted message back to its original form; the practice of removing translation effects to retrieve the original content
3. Undoing the conversion of content from one language to another to regain original significance; transforming a translated work into its primary language; the act of retracting a translated text to its native language or origin

Etymology: "Untranslating" is formed from "untranslate" plus the suffix "-ing". The prefix "un-" meaning "reverse, undo" was productive in English from Old English onward and attaches to many verbs, as in "unlock" or "undress". "Translate" itself comes from Latin "translatus", the past participle of "transferre", "to carry across", so the root sense is physically moving something from one place to another. Because "untranslate" is a transparent formation, its meaning follows directly from those parts: a reversal of the act of carrying a text across a language barrier. The verb is a recent coinage rather than an old word. It is not recorded in standard historical dictionaries as an established term, so its exact first use is uncertain.

Synonyms: back-translating, reverse translating

Antonyms: translating