reassess

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + assess,^[2][3][4][5] and is also written “re-assess”.^[3][1] The base verb, recorded from 1447, is from Old French assesser, from Late Latin assessō (“to fix or apportion a tax”), a frequentative of assideō (“to sit beside”), which is formed from ad- (“to”) and sedeō (“to sit”).^[2][3] Etymonline explains that one task of a judge's assistant, who sat beside him, was to fix the amount of a fine or tax.^[3] The noun reassessment follows from 1704 in the OED, from 1751 in Etymonline.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To assess something again or differently: before 1689, in W. Watson's Clergy-man's Law, published in 1701.^[2] Etymonline dates the verb to 1803.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The base verb first meant to fix the amount of a tax or fine (1447); from 1809 it also meant to value property officially for taxation, and its general sense, to judge the value or quality of a person or thing, appears only in 1934.^[2][3] The prefixed verb now usually has this general sense: to evaluate again, to reconsider.^[6][4][1]

Timeline

• before 1689 – to assess something again or differently.^[2] Etymonline dates the verb to 1803.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To assess something again; to re-evaluate or reconsider: After the flood, the council reassessed its plans for the river.^[6][4][2]
2. To assess something differently; to revise an earlier assessment.^[2][1]

Related words

• assess
• assessment
• reassessment
• assessor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins