reengineering
UK[ˌriː.ɛn.dʒɪˈnɪə.rɪŋ]US[ˌriː.ɛn.dʒɪˈnɪr.ɪŋ]
n
The process of radically redesigning a business process, organization, or system to achieve dramatic improvements in performance.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
engineer
ing
re
again
engineer
designer
ing
noun suffix
Etymology
The word "reengineering" is a modern compound built from established English morphemes. Its core, "engineer," traces back to the Latin ingenium, meaning natural capacity or clever device, which evolved to denote one who designs and builds. The prefix "re-," from Latin, signifies repetition or a fresh start. Combined with the gerund-forming "-ing," the term literally means "the process of designing again." This literal sense perfectly captures the modern business concept of fundamentally rethinking and redesigning processes from the ground up to achieve significant gains, rather than making minor adjustments.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + engineer (designer) + ing (noun suffix)
re: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "again" or "back."
engineer: From Latin ingenium (innate quality, clever invention), via Old French engigneor. In this compound, it functions as the core verb meaning to design or construct.
ing: Old English origin, a suffix forming verbal nouns indicating action or process.
Examples
The company underwent a major reengineering of its supply chain to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Business process reengineering often involves eliminating unnecessary steps and leveraging new technology.
The success of the reengineering effort was evident in the dramatic reduction in product development time.