remaster

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *wre-

Latin re-

Old French re-bor.

Middle English re-

English re-

Proto-Indo-European *meǵh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-teros

?

Proto-Indo-European *meh₂-

Proto-Indo-European *-teros

?

Proto-Italic *magisteros

Latin magister, magistrum

Old French maistrebor.

▲

Latin magisterder.

Old English mǣġester

Middle English maister

English master

English remaster

From re- + master.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æstə(ɹ)

Verb

remaster (third-person singular simple present remasters, present participle remastering, simple past and past participle remastered)

1. (music) To produce a new version of a recording by remixing the original master recordings.
2. (film) To create a new master copy by enhancing sound or picture quality of an older recording.
3. (video games) To produce a new version of a video game with updated graphics, often re-recorded music, and added features and content.
   • 2020 August 1, Imad Khan, “Like Old Hollywood Movies, Video Games Get a Polish for New Audiences”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 February 2026:

     But the remastering shows how nostalgia is driving publishers’ decision making.

Derived terms

• remastered
• remasterer
• remastering

Translations

to create a new master copy by enhancing sound or picture quality of an older recording

• Catalan: remasteritzar
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 複刻 / 复刻 (fùkè)

• Finnish: remasteroida
• French: remastériser (fr)
• German: überarbeiten (de)
• Spanish: remasterizar
• Walloon: rimwaistri (wa)

Noun

remaster (plural remasters)

1. Synonym of remastering (“new version of a piece of media”).
   • 2020 August 1, Imad Khan, “Like Old Hollywood Movies, Video Games Get a Polish for New Audiences”, in The New York Times‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 February 2026:

     Like Hollywood remakes or remasters old movies, video game publishers are overhauling and rereleasing games to tap into ready-made fan bases for popular franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and World of Warcraft.

   • 2024 February 28, Calum Marsh, “Between ‘Star Wars’ Trilogies, a Golden Age of Video Games”, in The New York Times‎^[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 13 August 2025:

     On Wednesday, Nightdive Studios is releasing a remaster of Dark Forces that features enhanced lighting and textures but retains the look and feel of the original game.

Anagrams

• masterer, restream, streamer