revegetation
|re-veg-e-ta-tion|
🇺🇸
/ˌriːvɛdʒəˈteɪʃən/
🇬🇧
/ˌriːvɛdʒɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n/
making land plant-covered again
Etymology
'revegetation' originates from Latin elements: the prefix 're-' (meaning 'again') and the noun 'vegetatio' from 'vegetare', where 'vegetare' meant 'to enliven' or 'to make vigorous'.
'vegetare' in Latin gave rise to Medieval/Latin 'vegetatio' and Old French/Medieval forms that entered English as 'vegetation'; the modern English compound 'revegetation' was formed by adding the Latin prefix 're-' to 'vegetation' to indicate 'making vegetated again'.
Initially it carried the general sense of 'making lively again'; over time in ecology it came to mean specifically 'restoring plant cover or plant life to an area'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the process of restoring plant cover to land (by planting or encouraging natural regrowth) after disturbance, degradation, or erosion.
The revegetation of the mine site reduced erosion and helped wildlife return.
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Noun 2
the natural recovery or return of vegetation to an area over time (can be passive rather than actively planted).
After the river floods stopped, revegetation occurred naturally across the floodplain.
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Last updated: 2025/11/28 16:44