reword
UK[ˌriːˈwɜːd]US[ˌriːˈwɜːrd]
v
To express something again in different words, especially to make it clearer or more suitable.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
word
re
again
word
to put into words
Etymology
The verb 'reword' is a transparent modern English formation, combining the productive Latin-derived prefix 're-' with the native Germanic base 'word'. The prefix 're-', from Latin, carries its core sense of repetition or backward motion. The base 'word', from Old English 'word', ultimately traces back to the Proto-Indo-European root werh₁- meaning "to speak" or "to say". Therefore, the literal construction "to word again" logically evolved into the modern abstract meaning of revising or restating a piece of text or speech using different terminology.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + word (to put into words)
re: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "again" or "back".
word: Old English origin, from the noun 'word', here functioning as a verb base meaning "to express in words".
Examples
The editor asked me to reword the opening paragraph for greater impact.
Could you reword that question? I didn't quite understand what you're asking.
The legal document was carefully reworded to avoid any potential ambiguity.