"R" Word Origins

recess

Latin

From Latin recessus ("a withdrawing, a hidden or secluded spot"), from recedere ("to go back").

recession

Latin

From Latin recessio, from recedere ("to withdraw").

recessive

Origin

From Latin recēdō + -ive, or directly from New Latin recessīvus.

recharge

Old French

From Old French rechargier, from re- plus chargier ("to load").

recheck

Origin

Formed from re- ("again") plus check.

recidivate

Origin

Adapted borrowing of Medieval Latin recidīvātus + -ate (verb-forming suffix), past participle of recidīvō, from Latin recidīvus (“returning, recurring”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Compare French récidiver. By surface analysis, recidive + -ate

recidivism

Latin

From Latin recidivus 'falling back', from recidere 'to fall back', formed from re- 'back' and cadere 'to fall'.

recipe

Latin

From Latin recipe, "take!" — the word doctors once wrote at the top of a prescription telling the pharmacist which ingredients to take and combine.

recipient

Latin

From Latin recipiens, "receiving," the present participle of recipio, "to take back, receive" — the same root that gives us "recipe" and "receive."

reciprocal

Latin

From Latin reciprocus, "moving back and forth," likely built from re- ("back") and pro- ("forward") joined with -que ("and") — the idea of something going both ways.

reciprocalness

Origin

From reciprocal + -ness.

reciprocate

Latin

From Latin reciprocare, "to move back and forth," from reciprocus (see "reciprocal").

reciprocity

Latin

From Latin reciprocus 'moving backwards and forwards, alternating', via reciprocitas.

recit

Origin

Borrowed from French récit.

recital

Origin

From "recite" plus the suffix -al, which turns a verb into a noun naming the act or result of doing it.

recitation

Latin

From Latin recitatio, built the same way as "recite" plus -ation, meaning "the act of reciting."

recite

Latin

From Old French reciter, from Latin recitare, "to read out" — built from re- ("again") and citare ("to summon, call out").

reck

Origin

From Middle English recken, rekken, reken, from Old Norse rœkja (compare Old English rēċċan, rēċan (“to care, reck, take care of, be interested in, care for, desire”); whence English retch), from Proto-Germanic *rōkijaną (“to care, take care”), from Proto-Indo-European *rēǵ-, *rēg- (“to care, help”). Cognate with obsolete Dutch roeken, Low German roken, ruken (“to reck, care”), German geruhen (“to deign, condescend”), Icelandic rækja (“to care, regard, discharge”), Danish røgte (“to care, tend”), Swedish rykta (“to groom”). See reckon.

reckful

Origin

From reck + -ful. Compare reckless.

reckfulness

Origin

From reckful + -ness. Compare recklessness.

reckless

Old English

From Old English recceleas, built from "reck" (to care or heed) plus the suffix "-less" — so literally "without care" or "heedless."

recklessly

Origin

From "reckless" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

recklessness

Origin

From "reckless" plus the noun-forming suffix "-ness."

reckon

Latin

From Old English gerecenian, "to explain or recount," going back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to make straight or right" — the same root behind the Latin word for "straight," rectus.

reckoning

Origin

Formed from the verb "reckon" plus "-ing."

reclaim

Latin

From Old French reclamer, from Latin reclamare, "to cry out against, protest" — the sense shifted over time from "call back" to today's "get back" or "restore."

reclamation

Latin

From Latin reclamatio, built from "reclaim" plus the noun ending "-ation."

recline

Origin

Borrowed from Latin reclīnāre (“to bend back”). Compare decline, incline.

recluse

Latin

From Old French reclus, from Latin recludere, which oddly originally meant "to open" — the sense flipped over time to mean someone shut away from the world.

reclusive

Origin

From "recluse" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ive."

recognisable

Origin

From "recognise" plus the suffix "-able."

recognition

Latin

From Latin recognitio, "a re-examining," itself from recognoscere, "to know again" (re- + cognoscere, "to learn, come to know").

recognitive

Origin

From Latin recognitus + English -ive (adjective suffix).

recognitory

Origin

From recognit(ion) + -ory.

recognizable

Origin

From "recognize" plus "-able."

recognizance

Old French

From Old French reconissance — a doublet (a word sharing the same root but taking a different path) of "reconnaissance."

recognize

Latin

From Old French reconoistre, from Latin recognoscere ("to know again"), from re- + cognoscere ("to learn, get to know").

recoil

Latin

From Old French reculer, "to move back," from re- plus a Latin root related to culus — literally suggesting retreating "rear-first."

recollect

Latin

From Latin recolligere, "to gather again," from re- ("again") and colligere ("to collect, gather"). Formed the same way as "recollection."

recollection

Latin

From Latin recollectus, past participle of recolligere ("to gather again"), from re- plus colligere ("to collect").

recommend

Latin

From Old French recommender, from Latin re- plus commendare ("to entrust, commend"), itself from com- ("together, thoroughly") and mandare ("to commit, hand over").

recommendation

Medieval Latin

From Anglo-Norman recomendacion, from Medieval Latin recommendatio, built from "recommend" plus "-ation."

recompensation

Origin

From recompense + -ation. Equivalent to re- + compensation.

recompense

Medieval Latin

From Old French recompense, from Medieval Latin recompensa — built from re- and compensare, "to weigh against, make up for," the same root as "compensate."

recon

Origin

A shortened form of "reconnaissance."

reconcile

Latin

From Latin reconciliare, built from re- ("again") and conciliare ("to bring together, unite") — the same root that gives us "council" and "conciliate."

reconciliation

Latin

From Latin reconciliare 'to bring together again, restore', from re- 'again' and conciliare 'to unite'.

reconditeness

Origin

From recondite + -ness.