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Etymology and origin of the English word recount

recount1 to narrate, tell in detail

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1456
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman recunter via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin computō

Pronunciation

  • /ɹɪˈkaʊnt/[1]

Etymology

The verb meaning to narrate is inherited from Middle English recounten,[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman recunter, a variant of reconter,[6][7][8][9] and directly borrowed from Middle French reconter,[3][5][10] from Old French re- (“again”) and conter (“to relate, reckon, count”),[11][3][7] which goes back, like count, to Latin computō (“to count, reckon”).[11] The OED takes it partly from raconter (“to relate in all its details”), formed with the same prefix from aconter, the source of account.[12][11] The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from 1113–19, both in the senses to count, to count again and to reckon, and in the senses to tell and to narrate.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

To tell in detail: Barnhart dates recounten to 1456.[3] The OED's first quotation is from Caxton's translation of the History of Jason (1477), and Etymonline notes that the word is frequent in Caxton.[12][11]

Semantic evolution

Like count and account, the verb at first covered both telling and reckoning.[12] Beside narrating, it was used in the 16th and 17th centuries for regarding someone as something (from about 1525), for weighing a matter in one's mind (1526–1708), and for reckoning or counting up (before 1549 to 1715); these senses are obsolete.[12][5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "to relate in detail; to tell distinctly", quoting Shakespeare.[13] A noun recount, an account or narrative, is recorded from 1490 in Caxton, perhaps after raconte, but it has long been rare.[12][6]

Timeline

  • 1456 – recounten, to tell in detail.[3] The OED's first quotation is from 1477, in Caxton.[12]
  • 1481 – to relate facts or events in order; to enumerate.[12]
  • 1490 – noun, an account, a narrative (long rare).[12][6]
  • c. 1525 – to regard or consider someone as something (obsolete by 1661).[12]
  • 1526 – to reflect on or weigh a matter (obsolete by 1708).[12]
  • before 1549 – to reckon, count (obsolete by 1715).[12]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To tell the story or details of something; to narrate: He recounted his travels in the Andes over dinner.[14][5][12]
  2. To go over or mention things one by one; to enumerate.[5][12]
  3. (obsolete, c. 1525–1661) To regard or consider someone as something.[5][12]

Noun

  1. (rare) An account or narrative; narration.[6][12]

Word family

  • recountal

recount2 to count again; a second count

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1764 Goldsmith, The Traveller
Ultimate origins
English re-Old French conter
Etymology tree of recount2
inherited borrowed derived
English count
English recount
From the same root · recount2
English countdown ← count

Pronunciation

  • /ɹiːˈkaʊnt/[1]

Etymology

The verb meaning to count again is formed from English re- (“again”) + count,[12][5][6][11] and is also spelled “re-count”.[11] The OED compares French reconter from 1690.[12] The noun, a second count, was formed from the same prefix and the noun count, after the verb.[12][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To count again: 1764, in Oliver Goldsmith's The Traveller.[12][5][11]

Semantic evolution

The noun, a fresh count, appeared in the mid 19th century and has been used especially of the votes in an election;[12][5][11] Etymonline marks it as American English in origin.[11]

Timeline

  • 1764 – to count again.[12][5][11]
  • 1850 – noun, a second count, especially of votes in an election.[12][5] Etymonline dates the noun to 1855, in American English.[11]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To count something again: The clerks recounted the ballots by hand.[5][12][6]
  2. To make a new count.[5]

Noun

  1. A second or fresh count, especially of the votes in an election.[5][12][6]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  14. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Recount.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/recount. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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