revamp
to renew or renovate
TRANSLATION
revamp = ausbessern, erneuern, umgestalten, renovieren --- GOOGLE INDEX revamp: approximately 4,600,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
A major REVAMP of a Merseyside theatre is given the go-ahead after Arts Council England makes an award of £12.8m.
(BBC News)
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Air India to REVAMP Management Board
(Wall Street Journal)
(BBC News)
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Air India to REVAMP Management Board
(Wall Street Journal)
Did you
know?
revamp
verb
- to change or arrange something again, in order to improve it
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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A person could easily be fooled into thinking that the word "revamp" has some connection to blood-sucking monsters (vampire), women who seduce and exploit men (vamp) or the act of attacking and victimising someone (verb "to vamp"). The explanation is much more banal.
An old English proverb says "If the shoe fits, wear it." That means one should accept criticism for doing something bad. Freelance writer and humorist Adrienne Gusoff has her own version: "If the shoe fits, it's too expensive." In other words, really good shoes will make you reach deep into your pocketbook. So what does that have to do with revamp?
Because there was a time when many people found it difficult to pay for new shoes, it was not uncommon to have them repaired. This sometimes involved replacing the part of the shoe covering the front of the foot, which just so happens to be called the "vamp." Vamp is a 13th century word derived from the Old French "avant-pied meaning "in front of the foot."
Thus the process of renewing the shoe came to be called "revamping" (the prefix "re" means to do again). Over time revamp was adopted as a general term meaning "make new again, renew, renovate."
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SYNONYMS
clean, do up, face-lift, make over, overhaul, recondition, refresh, refurbish, rehabilitate, remake, remodel, renew, renovate, repair, restore, resurrect, retread, revitalize, revive, spruce up, update
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"We plan on revamping the entire product line to make it technologically superior."
verb
- to change or arrange something again, in order to improve it
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
A person could easily be fooled into thinking that the word "revamp" has some connection to blood-sucking monsters (vampire), women who seduce and exploit men (vamp) or the act of attacking and victimising someone (verb "to vamp"). The explanation is much more banal.
An old English proverb says "If the shoe fits, wear it." That means one should accept criticism for doing something bad. Freelance writer and humorist Adrienne Gusoff has her own version: "If the shoe fits, it's too expensive." In other words, really good shoes will make you reach deep into your pocketbook. So what does that have to do with revamp?
Because there was a time when many people found it difficult to pay for new shoes, it was not uncommon to have them repaired. This sometimes involved replacing the part of the shoe covering the front of the foot, which just so happens to be called the "vamp." Vamp is a 13th century word derived from the Old French "avant-pied meaning "in front of the foot."
Thus the process of renewing the shoe came to be called "revamping" (the prefix "re" means to do again). Over time revamp was adopted as a general term meaning "make new again, renew, renovate."
---
SYNONYMS
clean, do up, face-lift, make over, overhaul, recondition, refresh, refurbish, rehabilitate, remake, remodel, renew, renovate, repair, restore, resurrect, retread, revitalize, revive, spruce up, update
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"We plan on revamping the entire product line to make it technologically superior."
