Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “reinvent” come from?

Reinvent comes from Middle English reinventen, from Old French reinventer, composed of the prefix re- (from Latin re-, meaning "again") and inventer, ultimately from Latin invenire.

reinvent (English): To invent again something that has already been...

Definitions

  1. To invent again something that has already been...

Ancestry of “reinvent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishre-again, anew; a completive or intensification of...
2Middle Englishre-—
3Old Frenchre-re-
4Latinrĕ-—
5Latinprōdūcō—
6Latinprō-—
7Proto-Italic*pro-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “reinvent”

  • reinventor
  • reinventable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →