recesso

Forms

recesso m (plural recessi)^[1] An old form is Old Italian ricesso.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is learned: it is borrowed from Latin recessus (“a going back; retreat”), the action noun of recēdō (“to go back, withdraw”).^[4][5][6][1] The Latin noun is formed with the suffix -tus.^[1][7] The verb is the source of recedere.^[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is from D. Cavalca (before 1342), in the sense “hidden, secluded place”, also figuratively.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century the Ottimo commentary on Dante uses recessi for the abatement of fevers, beside their accessioni.^[2][3] The sense “act of going back” appears in a 15th-century translation of Petrarch as ricesso and in B. Varchi (before 1565) for the astronomers' motion dell'accesso e del recesso.^[2][3] GDLI quotes it for ravines and remote places from Sannazaro, Bruno and Sarpi.^[9]

The legal sense, withdrawal from a contract, is recorded in 1826.^[2] Anatomy and mechanics later adopted the word for small blind cavities.^[5][10]

Timeline

• Before 1342 – D. Cavalca uses recesso “secluded place”.^[2][5]
• 1300s – The Ottimo commentary speaks of the recessi of fevers.^[2]
• 1400s – A translation of Petrarch has ricesso “going back”.^[2]
• Before 1565 – B. Varchi uses recesso in astronomy.^[2]
• 1826 – The legal sense is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare) The act of going back, withdrawal.^[5][11][8]
2. (literary) A secluded, hidden place, a recess; figuratively, the innermost part of the mind: nei recessi del cuore, in the depths of the heart.^[5][8][6]
3. (anatomy) A small blind cavity of bone or other tissue.^[5][8][6]
4. (mechanics) An inner cavity of a part, reached only by working radially to the axis of the opening.^[5][8][10]
5. (law) Withdrawal from a contract; of a state, withdrawal from a treaty or organization: diritto di recesso, right of withdrawal.^[5][8][11]
6. (medicine) remission.^[11][1]

Related words

• recessione
• recessivo
• recedere
• Latin recessus

Usage notes

Recesso is also the rare literary past participle of recedere, “drawn back”, recorded from 1598.^[2][11][10] Parini used it as an adjective, “secluded”.^[9][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
4. ^ a b Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
10. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli