reverting adj : tending to return to an earlier state [syn: returning] n : a failure to maintain a higher state [syn: backsliding, lapse, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion]

English

Verb

reverting

1. present participle of revert

Law

In law, a reversion is an agreement such that one party (grantee) is given a possessory interest in a property from another (grantor) under the understanding that the interest will "revert" to the grantor at the expiration of the grantee's interest (e.g. grantee's death, expiration of a term of years, etc.).

A common form of a reversion is for one person to allow another to possess a house until their death, upon which time it reverts to the grantor. This may be represented by the language "To A for life," with the reversionary interest assumed.

Reversions themselves can be thought of as a form of derivative in which the underlying asset is a piece of property rather than a more usual financial instrument. Reversions can thus themselves be bought and sold.

Real Estate Appraisal

In real estate appraisal a reversion is a lump-sum benefit an investor receives or expects to receive upon the termination of an investment; also called reversionary benefit. A reversion can be used in real estate valuation by valuing the last projected cash flow as a perpetuity using a reversion cap rate.

Evolution

In evolution, reversion is the return of a character to one of its previous ancestral state. Reversion are quite commonly observed within DNA. The existence of reversion refutes Dollo's law a 19th century theory that evolution cannot return to a prior form of an organism.

Software and content development

Reversion or reverting is the return to a previous instantiation of a piece of software, saved database state, web page, wiki article, or other piece or set of digital content or data.

Mathematics

In mathematical analysis, given a power series for a function f, reversion of that series amounts to finding the "inverse" power series, that is, the power series of the inverse function f\,^.

Television production

In television production, the word may refer to the process of reversioning (or re-versioning, thus re-version): the relatively recent phenomenon of recycling pre-existing productions, even entire series, into "new" shows. Completed TV shows that have already aired are re-edited or supplied with new voice-over, graphics or music, and then aired with a new title, often for a new audience. Sometimes the changes are relatively minor, as in the case of Prehistoric Planet, which was made from the original series Walking with Dinosaurs.

An example of a reversioned film is Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?, in which the director wrote new English dialogue for the Japanese film International Secret Police: Key of Keys for comic effect.

Religion

When a person converts to Islam some Muslims consider it as reversion, because they believe that Islam is the original Abrahamic religion. But the usage of the word reversion is disputed by many non-muslims.