resize

The verb "resize" is a modern English formation, created by combining the productive Latin-derived prefix "re-" with the noun "size." The prefix "re-" carries its classical sense of "again," implying a repeated action of determining or setting dimensions. The noun "size" has a more circuitous history, originating from the Latin verb assidere ("to sit beside"), which led to the Vulgar Latin assisa ("a sitting, a session of a court") and into Old French. In legal Anglo-French, an "assize" was a fixed statute or regulation, which semantically shifted to mean a fixed portion or standard measure, eventually generalizing to its current meaning of physical magnitude. Therefore, "resize" logically tells the story of "setting the dimensions again" or "altering the established measure," a concept perfectly suited to the digital age of adjusting images and interfaces.

Structure: re (again) + size (dimensions) - re: A prefix of Latin origin, meaning "again" or "back." In this word, it indicates a repeated or altering action. - size: A noun of Old French origin (from assise, meaning "a sitting, session, regulation"), which entered English via Anglo-French law. It evolved to mean "magnitude, dimensions." Here, it functions as the verbal base.