diff --git a/cs/CodeGenerator.cs b/cs/CodeGenerator.cs
index 66866e2..49a7d05 100644
--- a/cs/CodeGenerator.cs
+++ b/cs/CodeGenerator.cs
@@ -361,13 +361,36 @@ public Int32 Visit(AssignmentNode node) {
 			// the target register when done.  But we should probably return to
 			// this later and see if we can optimize it more.
 			varReg = AllocReg();
-			_variableRegs[node.Variable] = varReg;
+			// Don't set it in _variableRegs just yet.
+		}
+		// In the case of lists and maps, it's possible to define a variable which
+		// relies on the variable's prior value; for example, ensureImport from the
+		// importUtil library has the code:
+		// if moduleName isa string then moduleName = [moduleName]
+		// In that case and that case alone, we need to allocate a temporary register
+		// for the new value of the variable and then copy the new value into the right
+		// register.
+		// Note that a similar case does not need to be added for IndexedAssignmentNode
+		// since that allocates a new register for the value in all cases.
+		// Holds the register for the variable in the recursive case (-1 = no need)
+		Int32 pendingReg = -1;
+		if (CheckForRecursiveDefinition(node.Variable, node.Value)) {
+			// Check and make sure this isn't something like "x = x"
+			// (we only need to check if the node is an IdentifierNode, since an
+			// IdentifierNode with any other name wouldn't trigger the recursive
+			// definition check)
+			IdentifierNode valueIdNode = node.Value as IdentifierNode;
+			if (valueIdNode == null) {
+				pendingReg = varReg;
+				varReg = AllocReg();
+			}
 		}
 		// Emit a NAME op unless one already dominates this point.  This must run
 		// on every path that assigns the variable, including conditional branches
 		// (e.g. the else clause of a single-line if), or the variable would be
 		// undefined at runtime when only that path executes.
-		EnsureNamed(node.Variable, varReg);
+		// Defer this line if we're doing a recursive definition.
+		if (pendingReg == -1) EnsureNamed(node.Variable, varReg);
 		// If the RHS is a function expression, note the current function count so we
 		// can assign the variable name to the resulting FuncDef afterward.
 		FunctionNode rhsFunc = node.Value as FunctionNode;
@@ -381,6 +404,22 @@ public Int32 Visit(AssignmentNode node) {
 			if (rhsFuncDef != null) rhsFuncDef.Name = node.Variable;
 		}
 
+		if (pendingReg != -1) {
+			// We allocated a temporary register earlier, so now we need to finish the
+			// assignment. Load the variable's actual register with the value of the
+			// temporary register and then free the temporary register to be used later.
+			EnsureNamed(node.Variable, pendingReg);
+			_emitter.EmitABC(Opcode.LOAD_rA_rB, pendingReg, varReg,
+				0, $"r{pendingReg} = r{varReg}");
+			FreeReg(varReg);
+			varReg = pendingReg;
+		}
+
+		// If the variable didn't exist before, now it does.
+		if (!_variableRegs.ContainsKey(node.Variable)) {
+			_variableRegs[node.Variable] = varReg;
+		}
+
 		// Note that we don't FreeReg(varReg) here, as we need this register to
 		// continue to serve as the storage for this variable for the life of
 		// the function.  (TODO: or until some lifetime analysis determines that
@@ -392,6 +431,36 @@ public Int32 Visit(AssignmentNode node) {
 		return varReg;
 	}
 
+	private Boolean CheckForRecursiveDefinition(String variableName, ASTNode node) {
+		// IdentifierNode: is it the right variable?
+		IdentifierNode identifierNode = node as IdentifierNode;
+		if (identifierNode != null) {
+			return identifierNode.Name == variableName;
+		}
+
+		// ListNode: check every item in the list
+		ListNode listNode = node as ListNode;
+		if (listNode != null) {
+			for (Int32 i = 0; i < listNode.Elements.Count; ++i) {
+				if (CheckForRecursiveDefinition(variableName, listNode.Elements[i])) return true;
+			}
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		// MapNode: check all keys and values in the map
+		MapNode mapNode = node as MapNode;
+		if (mapNode != null) {
+			for (Int32 i = 0; i < mapNode.Keys.Count; ++i) {
+				if (CheckForRecursiveDefinition(variableName, mapNode.Keys[i])) return true;
+				if (CheckForRecursiveDefinition(variableName, mapNode.Values[i])) return true;
+			}
+			return false;
+		}
+
+		// All other cases: return false.
+		return false;
+	}
+
 	public Int32 Visit(IndexedAssignmentNode node) {
 		Int32 containerReg = node.Target.Accept(this);
 		Int32 indexReg = node.Index.Accept(this);