rephrase

Etymology

It is formed from English re- + phrase, the verb.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The OED notes that the noun rephrasing is recorded slightly earlier, in 1881.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To put into different words: 1882, in the London weekly The Era.^[2] Etymonline dates the verb to 1872,^[3] while the 1989 edition of the OED gave 1895^[7] and Dictionary.com 1890–95.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline also records the hyphenated spelling re-phrase.^[3] Besides the transitive use, the OED records the verb used without an object and figuratively.^[2] Collins defines it as phrasing something again, especially to express it more clearly.^[8]

Timeline

• 1882 – to put into different words, to express in another way.^[2] Etymonline dates the verb to 1872,^[3] and the 1989 edition of the OED to 1895.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To say or write something again in different words, especially to make it clearer: When nobody answered, the teacher rephrased her question.^[8][4][2]

Related words

• phrase
• paraphrase

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins