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retro-engineer

verb

Etymology

From retro- + engineer.

  1. derived from ingegniere — “engineer”
  2. derived from engigneour
  3. derived from ingénieur
  4. derived from *ǵenh₁-✻ — “to beget, give birth to; to produce”
  5. derived from ingenium — “innate or natural quality, nature; intelligence, natural capacity; ability, skill, talent; (Medieval Latin) engine; machine”
  6. derived from engigneor
  7. derived from enginour
  8. inherited from enginour — “one who designs, constructs, or operates military works for attack or defence, etc.; machine designer”
  9. prefixed as retro-engineer — “retro + engineer”

Definitions

  1. To reverse-engineer

    To reverse-engineer; to analyze (an existing item) in order to determine how to replicate it.

    • On other occasions, where the technical basis for the initial entry cannot be defended, the second mover has the advantage, since it may well be less costly to retro-engineer a product than to have invented and innovated it.
    • I suspected that's why I could so easily retro-engineer and re-invent their ultra-superior and advanced technology.
    • He was an engineer, it was his responsibility to retro-engineer the saucer and its components, to find out how it could do what it had done.

  2. To develop (a process) by starting with the goal and working backwards to determine the…

    To develop (a process) by starting with the goal and working backwards to determine the steps needed to achieve it.

    • Use the functional interaction with your best performers to retro-engineer a mission, values, and culture check-in.
    • As we noted in the previous chapter, the best method for scheduling your time is to retro-engineer—that is, work backward.

  3. To revise or adapt (an existing item or process) in order to achieve a new purpose.

    • It is much more difficult to retro-engineer at the end, security is all about how it is used and should be a driving force from concept commencement.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for retro-engineer. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA