récession

Forms

récession f (plural récessions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin recessiō (“withdrawal, going back”), first recorded in 1864.^[2][3] The Latin noun was formed on the supine recessum of recēdō (“to go back, withdraw”), from re- (“back”) and cēdō (“to go”).^[4][5][6] The GLLF and the DHLF date the French word to Littré (1869), the Robert dictionaries to 1870.^[5][4][7]

The economic sense was taken in 1954 from the English word recession, of the same origin, which is recorded from the 17th century and in economics from 1929.^[2][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The 1864 record, in the proceedings of the Académie des sciences, has the general sense “gradual withdrawal”.^[2] Littré defined it simply as “the action of withdrawing”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

From a learned word for withdrawal it became a term of astronomy in récession des nébuleuses (1949), the moving apart of the galaxies at speeds in proportion to their distance, the idea behind the theory of the expanding universe.^[4][2] In the earth sciences it names the falling flow of a spring and the retreat of glaciers (récession glaciaire).^[2][9]

The economic sense (1954) at first served as a euphemism for crise or dépression; specialists came to use it for a milder kind of crisis.^[4][2] The adjective récessif (1907) was formed from it in biology by a change of suffix, after German recessiv.^[4]

Timeline

• 1864 – First record, in the proceedings of the Académie des sciences.^[2][3]
• 1869 – Littré records it as “the action of withdrawing”.^[5][4]
• 1907 – The biological adjective récessif is formed.^[4]
• 1929 – English recession takes its economic sense.^[2][4]
• 1949 – Récession des nébuleuses appears in astronomy.^[2][4]
• 1954 – The economic sense is recorded in France-Observateur.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (formal) A withdrawal or moving back.^[7][8]
2. (astronomy) The steady moving apart of the galaxies: récession des galaxies, récession des nébuleuses.^[2][7][9]
3. (earth sciences) The falling discharge of a spring, also the retreat of glaciers: récession glaciaire.^[2][9]
4. (economics) A slowing of economic activity, with less investment and more unemployment: une période de récession.^[2][7][9]

Word family

• récessif

Related words

• recès
• céder
• Latin recessiō
• English recession

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)