Re-
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ɹiË/
Origin
From Old French re- in some cases, directly from Latin re- in others. Displaced native English ed-, eft-, gain-, with-/wither-.
Usage notes
The hyphen is not normally included in words formed using this prefix, except when the absence of a hyphen would make the meaning unclear. Hyphens are used in the following cases:
Sometimes in new coinages and nonce words.
stir and re-stir the mixture
When the word that the prefix is combined with begins with a capital letter.
re-Christianise
In British usage, when the word that the prefix is combined with begins with e.
re-entry (North American: reentry)
When the word formed is identical in form to another word in which re- does not have any of the senses listed above.
The chairs have been re-covered (covered again)
The chairs have been recovered (obtained back)
A dieresis may be used instead of a hyphen, as in reëntry. This usage is now rare, but extant; see for examples and discussion.
re- is highly productive, to the point of being almost grammaticalized — almost any verb can have re- applied, especially in colloquial speech. Notable exceptions to this include all forms of be and the modal verbs can, should, etc.