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récurrent

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Etymology and origin of the French word récurrent

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1541 Jean Canappe More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Latin recurrens
Ultimate origin
Latin currō

Pronunciation

  • /ʁe.ky.ʁɑ̃/[1]

Forms

récurrent (feminine récurrente, masculine plural récurrents, feminine plural récurrentes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin recurrēns (“running back”), the present participle of recurrō (“to run back, return”), formed from re- and currō (“to run”).[2][3][4][5] It was taken in 1541 as a term of anatomy.[3][4][6] For the mathematical sense the TLFi compares English usage, where recurrent series are recorded from 1763.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in anatomy, in Jean Canappe's nerfs reccurens (1541, printed 1555), for nerves that turn back towards their origin.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In anatomy récurrent describes a nerve or vessel that branches off and runs back towards its trunk instead of continuing it;[2][7] nerf récurrent is the lower nerve of the larynx.[2][7] Ambroise Paré also writes of the nerfs recurrens in the 16th century.[7]

Its later senses are temporal rather than spatial: in mathematics a série récurrente (1713) is a series in which each term depends on the ones before it, and in medicine fièvre récurrente (1904) is a fever that returns in bouts.[3][2] By extension, by the time of Proust (before 1922), it describes anything that keeps coming back or repeating.[3][6] The noun récurrence followed the same path, from anatomy (1840) to repetition (1867).[3]

Timeline

  • 1541 – First recorded as an anatomical term, in Jean Canappe.[3][6]
  • 1713 – Used in mathematics.[2][4]
  • 1812 – Suite récurrente is recorded by Mozin.[2]
  • 1904 – Fièvre récurrente appears in the Nouveau Larousse illustré.[2][3]
  • before 1922 – Proust uses it in the general sense “recurring”.[3][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (anatomy) Of a nerve or blood vessel: turning back towards the trunk it comes from.[8][2]
  2. (medicine) Fièvre récurrente: relapsing fever, an infection with repeated bouts of fever.[8][9]
  3. (mathematics) Série récurrente: a series in which each term is a function of the preceding ones.[8][3]
  4. Recurring, coming back often: une question récurrente.[9][3]

Word family

  • récurrence

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Récurrent.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/r%C3%A9current. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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