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Re·con·struc·tion·ism

(rē′kən-strŭkshə-nĭz′əm)

1. The branch of Judaism founded in the United States in the 1900s that regards Judaism as a religious civilization and questions the doctrine that the Jews are God's chosen people.

2. A movement within Christianity seeking to reestablish biblical law as the basis for civil law and social mores.

3. A movement seeking to revive the beliefs and practices of a historic form of religion, especially a pre-Christian polytheistic religion.

Re′con·struction·ist adj. & n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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