If "renovate" is to make new again (re-nova)...why is it not pronounced ree-nove-ate?
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Why do you think it should be? It's only spelled with one E, not two. – John Lawler Feb 11 '20 at 23:00
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In a way this is an interesting question. You are right that there are many Latin-derived words where the 're-' is pronounced as in 'tree'. But, first of all, English is notoriously inconsistent phonetically. You only have to consider 'rough', 'thought', 'though', 'thorough', 'through', 'cough' to see this. In fact, 'renovate' is not the only word in which the prefix 're' is pronounced as in 'pen'. 'replicate' is also pronounced like that. And, although it may be pronounced as in 'tree' for 're-create', 'recreation' is as in 'pen'. – Tuffy Feb 11 '20 at 23:36
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Because, ultimately, people are lazy. – Hot Licks Feb 11 '20 at 23:36
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As far as I know, “renovate” was always pronounced with “ren-o” instead of “ree-no...”: see the linked question for an explanation of the different pronunciation of words with the prefix re-. – herisson Feb 12 '20 at 03:08