reconsider

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + consider.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline takes it partly from French reconsidérer as well;^[7] the OED compares reconsiderer and the French verb, recorded from 1311 but rare between the 16th and the 20th centuries.^[2] The base verb consider comes through Old French considerer from Latin cōnsīderō (“to look at closely, observe”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To consider a matter again: 1571, in A. Golding's translation of Calvin's commentary on the Psalms.^[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1570s, in the sense "to turn over in the mind again".^[7]

Semantic evolution

The sense "to think over a decision or opinion again, with a view to changing it", now the main one, appears in 1622;^[2] Etymonline dates it only by 1849.^[7] From 1665 the verb was also used reflexively for reflecting on one's own conduct, with a view to repenting or mending it, a use now rare.^[2] In a legislature or meeting it also means to take up again a motion or bill that has already been voted on.^[3][8]

Timeline

• 1571 – to consider a matter again.^[2][3]
• 1622 – to reconsider a decision or opinion with a view to changing it.^[2]
• 1665 – reflexive, to reflect on one's conduct (now rare).^[2]
• 1849 – the sense of reviewing a decision, according to Etymonline.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To think again about a decision, plan or opinion, especially with a view to changing or reversing it: The board agreed to reconsider its refusal.^[3][8][2]
2. Of a legislature or meeting, to take up again a motion or bill that has already been voted on.^[3][8]
3. To consider something again; to think it over once more.^[3][2]

Word family

• reconsideration
• unreconsidered

Related words

• consider

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins