Where does “recite” come from?
Recite comes from Old French reciter, from Latin recitare, formed from the prefix re- and citus, meaning "set in motion," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ḱey- and wer-.
recite (English): To repeat aloud (some passage, poem or other text previously memorized, or in front of one's eyes), often before an audience
Definitions
- To repeat aloud (some passage, poem or other text previously memorized, or in front of one's eyes), often before an audience
Ancestry of “recite”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cite | to quote; to repeat, as a passage from a book, or... |
| 2 | English | citation | An official summons or notice given to a person... |
| 3 | Old French | citation | — |
| 4 | Latin | citatio | summoning, calling; proclamation; citation |
| 5 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 6 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 7 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 8 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 9 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 10 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 11 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 12 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |