recess
/ˈɹiˌsɛs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.53 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space."
- "[T]he Sun, the great eye of the vvorld, prying into the receſſes of rocks, and the hollovvneſſe of valleys, receives ſpecies, or viſible forms from theſe objects, but he beholds them onely by that light vvhich proceeds from himſelf: […]"
- "VVithin a Mountain's hollovv VVomb, there lies / A large Receſs, conceal'd from Human Eyes; […]"
- "VVithin a long Receſs there lies a Bay, / An Iſland ſhades it from the rovvling Sea, […]"
- "His dvvelling a receſs in ſome rude rock, / Book, beads, and maple-diſh his meagre ſtock, […]"
- "The glare of the touch enlightened only the rude vvalls of the citadel, ſome points of the cliff belovv, and ſome tall pins that vvaved over them, leaving in doubtful gloom many a receſs of the ruin, and many a tangled thicket, that ſpread among the rocks beyond."
Etymology
The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus (“decree or resolution of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”)), from recēdō (“to go back, recede, retire, withdraw; to go away, depart; (by extension) to disappear, vanish; to separate; to stand back, be distant; to yield”) (from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + cēdō (“to go, move, proceed”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs); influenced by Middle French recès, French recès (“a break, pause; break between classes in school; school vacation; ebbing of tide; reduction”) (also Anglo-Norman recès and Old French recès (“hiding place; hollow”). Noun sense 5 (“decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.”) is possibly influenced by Italian recesso and refers to a decree or resolution made just before a meeting ends. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Catalan recés * Italian recesso * Middle French recès (modern French recès) * Portuguese recesso * Spanish receso
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɹiˌsɛs/
- British English: /ɹɪˈsɛs/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- Slang
- Archaic
- Australian usage
- Canadian usage
- British usage
- American usage
Inflected Forms
recesses (plural)
more recess (comparative)
most recess (superlative)
recesses (present, singular)
recessing (participle, present)
recessed (participle, past)
recessed (past)