recite

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English reciten,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman receiter and Middle French reciter,^[5] and directly borrowed from Latin recitō (“to read out, read aloud, repeat from memory”),^[5][6][7][8] formed from re- (“back, again”) and citō (“to summon, call”),^[6][7][8] the source of cite.^[9][8] The Oxford Dictionary of English takes the prefix as intensive.^[10] The French verb meant "to read aloud" from about 1150, and in Anglo-Norman also "to state a fact in a legal document" by the early 14th century;^[5][11] in post-classical Latin from British sources it meant "to give an account of" and "to quote".^[5] Related forms are Italian recitare, Spanish recitar and Catalan recitar.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, to state a relevant fact in a deed or other document: 1430, in the Rolls of Parliament.^[5][7][10] Etymonline likewise dates the legal sense to the early 15th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the legal sense the word spread in the 15th century to mentioning or listing things in order (before 1475), to relating or describing (1448) and to quoting a book or passage.^[5][6] The sense now most common, to read aloud or repeat from memory, especially before an audience, is first recorded in 1481, in Caxton.^[5] Johnson (1755) defined the verb as "to rehearse; to repeat; to enumerate; to tell over".^[12] The intransitive use, to say a lesson from memory or answer questions on it, is recorded from 1742 and was chiefly American, in schools.^[5][6] The noun recite, a recital, is recorded from 1594;^[5] Johnson already marked it "not in use".^[5][12]

Timeline

• 1430 – in law, to state a fact in a document.^[5]
• c. 1436 – to mention a person or thing (obsolete by 1647).^[5]
• 1448 – to relate or describe in detail.^[5]
• before 1475 – to list or enumerate.^[5]
• 1481 – to read aloud or repeat from memory before an audience.^[5]
• 1509 – to quote a law, passage or opinion.^[5]
• 1594 – noun, a recital.^[5]
• 1742 – intransitive, to say a lesson aloud or be questioned on it.^[5][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To say a poem, passage or prayer aloud from memory, or to read it aloud, especially before an audience: The children recited the alphabet for their grandparents.^[13][4][5]
2. To give a detailed account of something; to relate or narrate.^[13][4][5]
3. To list or enumerate things one after another.^[13][4][5]
4. (law) To state facts formally in a deed or other legal document.^[4][5]
5. To quote a law, passage or opinion.^[5][14]
6. (intransitive) To say something aloud from memory; especially, formerly in American schools, to answer questions on a lesson.^[5][14][4]

Word family

• reciter
• recitable
• recital
• unrecited

Related words

• recitation
• recitative
• cite
• excite
• incite

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
10. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
12. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
13. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press