I am always interested in hyphens. It’s not stretching the truth to say that I actually love hyphens. A hyphen is always worth looking at—even though what should be a hyphen often turns out to be a dash—because a hyphen generally indicates a word in a state of flux. For example, after-noon, e-mail, and non-profit are all words that were, at first, new concepts, but now have made the transition into non-hyphenated status because of their universal acceptance; in other words, we “get” what “afternoon” means.
However, sometimes a hyphen is needed for clarity, and I got a good example of that circumstance just now, when I placed an order online. Just as I had placed the order (the very split second I placed it!), I realized that the vendor still had my old credit card information on file. I updated the information, and then sent a quick email to the sellers, and asked if they could “re-charge” my order with my updated information, because it certainly wasn’t going to go through, or whether I needed to “re-place” my order.
To “recharge” something, usually batteries, is not the same thing as it is to “re-charge” a credit card, just as it’s not the same to “replace” something, which means to substitute or return an item, as it is to “re-place” an order.
Interesting! Gotta love it!
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