English

retar

From re- + tar.

A compound of re- + tar

Proto-Italic *wre- ‘again’

English re-

Proto-Indo-European *dór

Proto-Germanic *terwą

Proto-West Germanic *teru ‘tar, resin’

Old English teoru ‘tar, resin’

Middle English ter ‘Tar or a similar substance’

English tar

Today it means

verb To provide (a road, etc.) with a new coating of tar.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.