Etymologically
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recycle

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 22:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌɹiːˈsaɪkəl/, /ˌɹɪˈsaɪkəl/[1]
  • US: /ɹəˈsaɪkəl/, /ɹɪˈsaɪkəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English re- (“again”) + cycle, the verb cycle meaning to pass through a cycle.[2][3][4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To reuse material in an industrial process, or to return it to an earlier stage of a cyclic process: 1925, in a United States patent.[2] Etymonline dates the verb to 1922, originally of industrial processes,[3] Merriam-Webster gives 1925 for its first sense,[7] and Barnhart finds it implied in recycling in 1926.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of industrial chemistry and engineering.[3][2] The specific application to waste, processing it into a usable form, is recorded from 1960, in the magazine Aeroplane,[2][4][3] and the intransitive sense, to take part in recycling household waste, from 1971.[2] From 1965 it was also used of natural processes returning material to an earlier stage.[2] The figurative sense, to reuse something, often slightly altered, appears in 1969.[2][3] Separately, electronics used it from 1943 of a counter returning to its initial state.[2] The noun and adjective, of material set aside for recycling, followed in 1926.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1925 – to reuse material in an industrial process.[2][7]
  • 1926 – adjective, of material or equipment for recycling.[2] Barnhart finds recycling in the same year.[4]
  • 1943 – of a counter, to return to its initial state.[2]
  • 1960 – to process waste into a usable form.[2][4][3]
  • 1961 – noun, the process of recycling.[2]
  • 1965 – of organisms and natural processes, to return material to an earlier stage.[2]
  • 1969 – figurative, to reuse in a slightly altered form.[2][3]
  • 1971 – intransitive, to take part in recycling household waste.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To process used materials such as glass, paper or plastic so that they can be made into new products: The town recycles its aluminium cans.[7][8][2]
  2. To use something again, especially in a slightly changed form: The director recycled an old plot for his new film.[7][2]
  3. To pass a substance through a system again for further treatment or use.[8][2]
  4. To repeat a series of operations, or of a device, to return to an initial state.[8][2]

Noun

  1. The process of recycling, or the material that is recycled.[2][7]

Word family

  • recyclable
  • recycler
  • recyclability

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins