reacquaint
UK[ˌriːəˈkweɪnt]US[ˌriːəˈkweɪnt]
v
to make someone or oneself familiar with someone or something again.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
acquaint
re
again
acquaint
make familiar
Etymology
the word 'reacquaint' is a relatively modern english formation, built upon the older verb 'acquaint'. the core of the word, 'acquaint', traces back to the latin verb 'cognoscere', meaning "to get to know, to recognize," which is itself composed of 'co-' (intensive) and 'gnoscere' (to know). this latin root is a prolific source of english words related to knowledge, such as 'cognition' and 'recognize'. the prefix 're-', a versatile latin element meaning "again," was attached to 'acquaint' to create a verb with the specific sense of making known or familiar once more. thus, the literal morphemic logic of "to know again" perfectly aligns with its modern abstract meaning of restoring familiarity.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + acquaint (make familiar)
re- (latin origin, a prefix meaning "again" or "back"). acquaint (from old french 'acointier', meaning "to make known", itself from vulgar latin 'accognitare', from latin 'ad-' (to) + 'cognitus' (known), the past participle of 'cognoscere' (to know)).
Examples
i need to reacquaint myself with the city's new public transport system.
the training session is designed to reacquaint staff with the updated safety protocols.
after years apart, they took a long walk to reacquaint themselves with each other's lives.