Etymologically
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remake

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˌɹiːˈmeɪk/, /ˈɹiːmeɪk/[1]
  • US: /ɹiˈmeɪk/, /ˈɹiˌmeɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + make.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To make a second time, or differently; to reconstruct or transform: 1603, in the preface to John Davies's Microcosmos.[2] Etymonline dates it to the 1630s, Merriam-Webster to about 1635 and the Shorter Oxford to the mid-17th century.[3][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined the verb as to make anew, quoting Glanvill on being remade "after the image of our maker".[6] The reflexive use, to reinvent oneself or change one's way of life, is recorded from 1641.[2] The noun began in 1865 as an Australian mining word for a continuation of a gold-bearing reef at a distance from its main part, now obsolete;[2] the general noun "something remade" appears in a letter of George Meredith of 1890.[2] The verb was used of films by the 1910s,[3] and the noun for a new version of a film, usually with different actors, by 1933 according to Etymonline, or from 1936 in the OED.[3][2] The Shorter Oxford notes that the noun was rare before the mid-20th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 1603 – verb, to make again or differently.[2]
  • 1641 – verb, to reinvent oneself.[2]
  • 1865 – noun, (Australia, mining) a continuation of a gold-bearing reef (obsolete).[2]
  • 1890 – noun, something remade.[2]
  • 1910s – verb, of a film.[3]
  • 1933 – noun, a new version of a film.[3][2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To make something again or in a different way; to rebuild or transform: After the fire they remade the kitchen from scratch.
  2. To produce a new version of an earlier film or recording.
  3. To reinvent oneself, changing one's character, image or way of life.

Noun

  1. A new version of an earlier film, usually with different actors; also, of a song or a game.
  2. Anything made again; the act of remaking.

Word family

  • remaker
  • make
  • remodel
  • remix

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.