recessive

Etymology

It is formed from English recess + -ive, on the pattern of excessive beside excess.^[2][3] The OED and Etymonline take the first part directly from Latin recess-, the past participle stem of recēdō (“to go back, fall back”),^[4][5][6][7] the source of recede, formed from re- (“back”) and cēdō (“to go”).^[5] The genetic sense follows German recessiv, used by Gregor Mendel in 1865.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tending to recede or go back; yielding, secluded, and of people retiring or reserved: 1654, in W. Charleton's Physiologia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charltoniana.^[4][6] Etymonline dates the word to the 1670s,^[5] and Dictionary.com to 1665–75.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In grammar the word was applied from 1861 to an accent that falls back near or onto the first syllable of a word, as in Greek, in J. Hadley's Greek Grammar;^[4] Etymonline dates this sense to 1879.^[5] In 1900 W. Bateson used recessive for a trait or gene that shows only when it is inherited from both parents and is masked otherwise, in contrast with dominant,^[4][5] following Mendel's German recessiv of 1865.^[4] The same year it became a noun, a recessive trait or an individual showing it.^[4][6] In the 20th century it was also used of a language or feature falling out of use (1929),^[4][2] and of an economy in recession (1971).^[4]

Timeline

• 1654 – tending to recede; of people, retiring or reserved.^[4][6] Etymonline gives the 1670s.^[5]
• 1861 – of an accent, falling near or on the first syllable of a word.^[4]
• 1900 – in genetics, of a trait or gene shown only when inherited from both parents; also as a noun.^[4][6][5]
• 1929 – of a language or linguistic feature, falling into disuse.^[4]
• 1971 – relating to or undergoing an economic recession.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (genetics) Of a gene, allele or trait: showing its effect only when inherited from both parents, and masked by a dominant allele otherwise: Blue eyes were long thought to be a simple recessive trait.^[8][6][4]
2. Tending to recede or go back.^[8][6][4]
3. Of a person, retiring or withdrawn.^[6][4]
4. (linguistics) Of stress or an accent: placed on or near the first syllable of a word.^[8][4]
5. Of a language or linguistic feature: falling into disuse.^[4][2]
6. Relating to or undergoing an economic recession.^[4]

Noun

1. (genetics) A recessive trait or allele, or an organism that shows one.^[6][4]

Word family

• recessively
• recessiveness
• nonrecessive

Related words

• recess
• recede
• recession
• excessive
• dominant
• cede

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins