In spectroscopy, remission refers to the reflection or back-scattering of light by a material. While seeming similar to the word "re-emission", it is the light which is scattered back from a material, as opposed to that which is "transmitted" through the material. The word "re-emission" connotes no such directional character. Based on the origin of the word "emit", which means "to send out or away", "re-emit" means "to send out again", "transmit" means "to send across or through", and "remit" means "to send back".