reconstruction English · revision 10782

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1594|origins=en re-|origins=en construction}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌriː.kənˈstrʌk.ʃən/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[re-]] and [[construction]],^(MWU 2024) serving as the noun of action to [[reconstruct]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The action of reconstructing: 1594 in Merriam-Webster,^(MWU 2024) 1791 in Etymonline and the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A thing reconstructed is from 1795.^(OED 1989) In United States history, Reconstruction, usually capitalized, is the process from 1865 by which the seceded Southern states were restored to the Union,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a period that lasted to 1877;^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) the word had already been used during the Civil War of the expected restoration of the Union.^(Etymonline) The rebuilding of an area devastated by war is from 1925.^(OED 1989) In linguistics, the recovery of an unrecorded word or language by comparison is a reconstruction.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1594 – reconstruction.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1791 – the act of rebuilding.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1865 – Reconstruction (US).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1925 – postwar rebuilding.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or result of rebuilding or re-creating something.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A re-creation of a past event or thing from evidence.^(AHD)

+ # ''Reconstruction'' ''(US history)'': the period from 1865 to 1877 when the Southern states were reorganized and readmitted to the Union.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[reconstructive]]

+ * [[reconstructional]]

+ * [[reconstructionism]]

+ * [[reconstructionist]]

+ * [[internal reconstruction]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reconstruct]]

+ * [[construction]]

+ * [[construct]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}