retell
UK[ˌriːˈtel]US[ˌriːˈtel]
v
To tell a story or describe an event again, often in a different way.
v
To tell someone about something that you have heard or been told.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
tell
re
again
tell
to narrate
Etymology
The verb "retell" is a transparent compound formed within English from the native Germanic verb "tell" and the borrowed Latin prefix "re-." The Old English root tellan originally carried meanings of counting, accounting, and recounting a narrative, which evolved into the modern sense of narrating or informing. The Latin prefix re-, meaning "again" or "back," was integrated into English through French and has been productively attached to verbs of various origins to denote repetition or restoration. Therefore, "retell" logically combines these elements to mean "to tell again," preserving the original action while specifying its iterative nature. This pattern of attaching "re-" to native verbs (e.g., rebuild, rewrite) exemplifies the hybrid nature of Modern English vocabulary.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + tell (to narrate)
- re: A prefix of Latin origin, meaning "again" or "back." It functions as a derivational prefix indicating repetition.
- tell: A verb of Old English origin (from tellan), meaning "to count, relate, or narrate." It functions as the core lexical root.
Examples
The teacher asked the students to retell the story in their own words.
Each witness was asked to retell the sequence of events they observed.
The legend has been retold in countless books and films over the centuries.