recover

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /rɪˈkʌv.ə/, US /rɪˈkʌv.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English rekeveren, recoveren, borrowed from Anglo-Norman recoverer, borrowed from Old French recovrer (“to come back; to regain health; to get again”) (modern French recouvrer),^[2][3][4] from Latin recuperāre (“to get again, recover”),^[2][3][5] which is akin to recipere (“to take back, receive”).^[5] It is a doublet of recuperate, borrowed directly from the Latin.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Probably before 1300, in Arthour and Merlin, both to get back something lost and to regain strength or health;^[2] Etymonline dates to regain consciousness or health to about 1300.^[4] Word Origins notes that both senses were present in English from the start.^[6]

Semantic evolution

NODE says the word originally referred to health.^[7] To get anything back or regain control of it after losing it is from the mid-14th century,^[4] 1377 in the OED,^[8] and to regain territory by conquest from about 1375.^[8] In law, to obtain by judgment or legal proceedings is from the late 14th century.^[4] To restore another person to health is from about 1600, and to rescue from danger from the 1610s.^[4] To recover arms (1680s) is to bring a gun from the aiming position to ready.^[4] Obtaining usable substances from ore or waste, and compensating for a loss, as to recover costs, are other modern senses.^[9][10] Recovery is possibly about 1303, in Mannyng,^[2] and recoverable before 1471.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1300 – to regain health; to get back.^[2][4]
• c. 1303 – recovery.^[2]
• 1377 – to get back into one's possession.^[8]
• late 14th century – to obtain by legal process.^[4]
• c. 1600 – to restore another to health.^[4]
• 1680s – to recover arms.^[4]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To return to a normal state of health, mind or strength.
2. To get back something lost or taken; to regain.
3. To make up for or recoup a loss.
4. To extract usable materials from ore or waste.
5. (law) To obtain by a judgment in court, as damages.

Word family

• recoverable
• recoverer
• recoverability
• unrecovered

Related words

• recovery
• recuperate
• receive
• capable

Usage notes

Re-cover, to cover again, is a separate formation from re- and cover, pronounced UK /ˌriːˈkʌv.ə/.^[1][10]

References

1. ^ a b Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins