reshape

Etymology

It is formed from English re- (“again”) + shape (“to give form to”).^[2][3][4][5] Etymonline notes that it is also written with a hyphen.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

To shape again or differently: 1794, in W. Woodfall and others' Impartial Report of the debates in the two Houses.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also gives 1794,^[3] Etymonline 1798,^[4] and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate 1827.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the start the verb was used transitively, and also reflexively.^[2] Besides physical shape, it is used of giving a new form or direction to plans, policies or organizations, which Merriam-Webster's Collegiate glosses as "reorganize",^[6][3] and Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records an intransitive use, to take on a new form.^[3]

Timeline

• 1794 – to shape again or differently.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the word to 1798.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give a new or different shape to: She reshaped the clay into a bowl.^[7][2][3]
2. To give a new form or direction to; to reorganize: The crisis reshaped the party's economic policy.^[3][6]
3. To take on a new form.^[3]

Word family

• reshaper

Related words

• shape

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins