Etymologically
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reconstruction

Etymology and origin of the English word reconstruction

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1594
Ultimate origin
English (construction)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌriː.kənˈstrʌk.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from re- and construction,[2] serving as the noun of action to reconstruct.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of reconstructing: 1594 in Merriam-Webster,[2] 1791 in Etymonline and the OED.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

A thing reconstructed is from 1795.[4] In United States history, Reconstruction, usually capitalized, is the process from 1865 by which the seceded Southern states were restored to the Union,[3][4] a period that lasted to 1877;[5][6] the word had already been used during the Civil War of the expected restoration of the Union.[3] The rebuilding of an area devastated by war is from 1925.[4] In linguistics, the recovery of an unrecorded word or language by comparison is a reconstruction.[5]

Timeline

  • 1594 – reconstruction.[2]
  • 1791 – the act of rebuilding.[3][4]
  • 1865 – Reconstruction (US).[3][4]
  • 1925 – postwar rebuilding.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act or result of rebuilding or re-creating something.
  2. A re-creation of a past event or thing from evidence.
  3. Reconstruction (US history): the period from 1865 to 1877 when the Southern states were reorganized and readmitted to the Union.

Word family

  • reconstructive
  • reconstructional
  • reconstructionism
  • reconstructionist
  • internal reconstruction

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Reconstruction.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/reconstruction. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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