reorganization

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + organization, after the verb reorganize;^[2][3] the OED compares French réorganisation, recorded from 1791.^[2] Etymonline takes it from the French noun or as a noun of action from reorganize.^[4] Organization is from Medieval Latin organizatio, from organizo (“to organize”), from Latin organum (“instrument, organ”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The action of reorganizing, or a fresh organization: 1751, in J. Kirkpatrick's reflections on the putrefaction of dead bodies.^[2] Merriam-Webster also dates the word to 1751.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The OED's revision in 2009 moved the first record back from 1813, the date in the 1989 edition and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate, to 1751;^[2][6][7] Etymonline found it from 1801, in translations from French.^[4] The verb reorganize is older, from the 1680s.^[4][2] Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1848) quoted Webster's example of the repeated organization of troops.^[8] In American law and business it has a specific sense, the financial reconstruction of a company, as under bankruptcy legislation.^[5][9][10]

Timeline

• 1751 – the action of reorganizing; a fresh organization.^[2][5] Etymonline dates the word to 1801.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act or process of organizing again or differently, or the state of being reorganized: The reorganization of the department took a year.^{[11][5][2][9]}
2. (business, law) A thorough restructuring of a company, especially its financial reconstruction under bankruptcy law.^[5][9][10]
3. A change in the structure of a government or of its agencies.^[5]

Word family

• reorganizational

Related words

• organization
• organize
• reorganize
• organ

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Bartlett, John Russell (1848), Dictionary of Americanisms, New York: Bartlett and Welford
9. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ a b Garner, Bryan A., ed. (2004), Black's Law Dictionary, 8th ed., St. Paul, Minn.: Thomson West
11. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins