Online Etymology Dictionary

rebut: c.1300, from O.Fr. rebuter "to thrust back," from re- "back" + boter "to thrust, hit" (see butt (v.)). Sense of "try to disprove, refute" is from 1817. Rebuttal first recorded 1830.
recalcitrant: 1843, from Fr. récalcitrant, lit. "kicking back" (17c.-18c.), pp. of recalcitrare "to kick back," from re- "back" + L. calcitrare "to kick," from calx (gen. calcis) "heel." Verb recalcitrate "to kick out" is attested from 1623; sense of "resist obstinately" is from 1759.
recall (v.): 1582, "to bring back by calling upon," from re- "back, again" + call (q.v.); in some cases a loan-translation of M.Fr. rappeler (see repeal) or L. revocare (see revoke). Sense of "bring back to memory" is from 1611. U.S. political sense of "removal of an elected official" is recorded from 1902. The noun is first recorded 1611.
recant: 1535, from L. recantare "recall, revoke," from re- "back" + cantare "to chant" (see cant (1)). A word from the Reformation. Loan-translation of Gk. palinoidein "recant," from palin "back" + oeidein "to sing."
recap: "put a strip of rubber on the tread of a tire," 1856. Used of automobile tires 1920s. As a shortened form of recapitulate, it dates from 1920s (see recapitulation).
recapitulation: 1388, "a summarizing," from O.Fr. recapitulacion (13c.), from L.L. recapitulationem (nom. recapitulatio), from recapitulatus, pp. of recapitulare "go over the main points of a thing again," lit. "restate by heads or chapters," from re- "again" + capitulum "main part" (see chapter).
recapture: 1752 (n.), 1799 (v.), from re- "back, again" + capture (q.v.).
recede: 1480, from M.Fr. receder, from L. recedere "to go back, withdraw," from re- "back" + cedere "to go" (see cede).
receipt: late 14c., "statement of ingredients in a potion or medicine," from Anglo-Fr. or O.N.Fr. receite "receipt, recipe" (1304), altered (by influence of receit "he receives," from V.L. *recipit) from O.Fr. recete, from L. recepta "received," fem. pp. of recipere (see receive). Meaning "written acknowledgment of money or goods received" is from c.1600.
receive: c.1300, from O.N.Fr. receivre (O.Fr. recoivre), from L. recipere "regain, take back," from re- "back" + -cipere, comb. form of capere "to take" (see capable). Radio and television sense is attested from 1908. Receiver as a telephone apparatus is from 1877; in ref. to a radio unit it is recorded from 1891; in U.S. football sense it dates from 1897. Receptive is attested from 1547.
recent: 1533, from L. recentem (nom. recens) "lately done or made, new, fresh," from re- + PIE base *ken- "fresh, new, young" (cf. Gk. kainos "new;" Skt. kanina- "young;" O.Ir. cetu- "first;" O.C.S. na-cino "to begin," koni "beginning.").
receptacle: 1412, from O.Fr. receptacle (14c.), from L. receptaculum "place to receive and store things," from receptare, frequentative of recipere "to hold, contain" (see receive).
reception: 1390, in astrology, "effect of two planets on each other;" sense of "act of receiving" is recorded from c.1489, from L. receptionem (nom. receptio) "a receiving," from receptus, pp. of recipere (see receive). Sense of "ceremonial gathering" is 1882, from French. Receptionist "person hired to receive clients in an office" is recorded from 1901.
recess: 1531, "act of receding," from L. recessus "a going back, retreat," from recessum, pp. of recedere "to recede" (see recede). Meaning "hidden or remote part" first recorded 1616; that of "period of stopping from usual work" is from 1620, probably from parliamentary notion of "recessing" into private chambers. The verb is from 1809.
recession: "temporary decline in economic activity," 1929, from recess (q.v.):
"The material prosperity of the United States is too firmly based, in our opinion, for a revival in industrial activity -- even if we have to face an immediate recession of some magnitude -- to be long delayed." ["Economist," Nov. 2, 1929]
Ayto notes, "There was more than a hint of euphemism in the coining of this term." Recessive in genetics is 1900, from Ger. recessiv (Mendel, 1865).
recharge (v.): 1432, "to reload" (a vessel), from re- "again, back" + charge "load" (q.v.); modeled on M.Fr. rechargier (13c.). Meaning "re-power a battery" is from 1876. The noun is recorded from 1611.
recherche: 1722, from Fr. recherché "carefully sought out," pp. of rechercher "to seek out." Commonly used 19c. of food, styles, etc., to denote obscure excellence.
recidivist: 1880, "relapsed criminal," from Fr. récidiviste, from récidiver "to fall back, relapse," from M.L. recidivare "to relapse into sin," from L. recidivus "falling back," from recidere "fall back," from re- "back, again" + comb. form of caedere "to fall" (see concise). Recidivation in the spiritual sense is attested from c.1420, was very common 17c.
recipe: 1584, "medical prescription," from M.Fr. récipé, from L. recipe "take!," imperative of recipere "to take" (see receive); word written by physicians at the head of prescriptions. Meaning "instructions for preparing food" first recorded 1743. The original sense survives only in the pharmacist's abbreviation Rx.
recipient: 1558, from M.Fr. récipient (16c.), from L. recipientem (nom. recipiens), prp. of recipere (see receive).
reciprocal: 1570, from L. reciprocus "returning the same way, alternating," from pre-L. *reco-proco-, from *recus (from re- "back" + -cus, adjective formation) + *procus (from pro- "forward" + -cus, adjective formation). The verb reciprocate "to return, requite" is recorded from 1820.
reciprocation: 1530, from L. reciprocationem (nom. reciprocatio) "retrogression, alternation, ebb," from reciprocatus, pp. of reciprocare "move back and forth," from reciprocus (see reciprocal).
recitative: 1645, from It. recitativo, from recitato, pp. of recitare, from L. recitare (see recite). Style of musical declamation intermediate between speech and singing. The It. form of the word was used in Eng. from 1617.
recite: 1430, from L. recitare "read aloud, repeat from memory," from re- "back, again" + citare "to summon" (see cite). Recital is first attested 1512 as a legal term for "formal statement of relevant facts;" musical performance sense is from 1811. Recitation "act of rehearsing" is recorded from 1484; meaning "repetition of a prepared lesson" is first recorded 1770, Amer.Eng.
reckless: O.E. receleas "careless, thoughtless, heedless," earlier reccileas, from -leas "-less" + *rece, recce "care, heed," from reccan "to care," from W.Gmc. *rokijanan (cf. O.N. rækja "to care for," O.H.G. giruochan "to care for, have regard to," Ger. geruhen "to deign," which is infl. by ruhen "to rest"). No known cognates outside Gmc. The same affixed form is in Ger. ruchlos, Du. roekeloos "wicked." Root verb reck (O.E. reccan) is passing into obscurity. The -k- sound is probably a northern influence from O.N. cognate roekja.
reckon: O.E. gerecenian "to recount, relate," from W.Gmc. *(ga)rekenojanan (cf. O.Fris. rekenia, M.L.G. rekenen, O.H.G. rehhanon, Ger. rechnen, Goth. rahnjan "to count, reckon"), from P.Gmc. *rakinaz "ready, straightforward," from PIE *reg- "to move in a straight line." I reckon, used parenthetically, is now dialectal (Southern U.S.), but dates from c.1600 and formerly was in literary use (Richardson, etc.). Related: Reckoning (c.1300).
reclaim: c.1300, from O.Fr. reclamer "to call back, appeal to" (12c.), from L. reclamare "cry out against, appeal," from re- "opposite, against" + clamare "cry out" (see claim). Meaning "bring waste land into useful condition" first attested 1764, probably via M.E. meaning "call back a hawk," on notion of "reduce to obedience."
recline: c.1420, from L. reclinare "to bend back, to lean back," from re- "back, against" + clinare "to bend," from PIE *klei-n-, suffixed form of *klei "to lean" (see lean (v.)). Recliner "chair in which one may recline" is attested from 1928.
recluse (n.): early 13c., "person shut up from the world for purposes of religious meditation," from O.Fr. reclus (fem. recluse), noun use of reclus (adj.) "shut up," from L.L. reclusus, pp. of recludere "to shut up, enclose" (but in classical L. "to throw open"), from L. re-, intensive prefix + claudere "to shut" (see close (v.)). Reclusive first recorded 1590s (recluse formerly served also as an adj. in English).
recognise: British spelling of recognize (q.v.); for suffix, see -ize
recognition: 1473, from L. recognitionem (nom. recognitio) "act of recognizing," from recognit-, pp. stem of recognoscere "to acknowledge, know again, examine" (see recognize).
recognizance: late 14c., reconyssaunce, from O.Fr. reconissance "acknowledgment, recognition" (Fr. reconnaissance), from prp. stem of reconoistre (see recognize).
recognize: 1414, "resume possession of land," from M.Fr. reconiss-, stem of reconoistre "to know again, identify, recognize," from O.Fr., from L. recognoscere "acknowledge, recall to mind, know again, examine, certify," from re- "again" + cognoscere "know" (from co- "with" + gnoscere "become acquainted;" see notice). Meaning "perceive something or someone as already known" first recorded 1533.
recoil (v.): early 13c., "force back," from O.Fr. reculer "to go back, recede, retreat," from V.L. *reculare, from L. re- "back" + culus "backside." Meaning "shrink back" is first recorded 1510s, and that of "spring back" (as a gun) in 1520s. The noun is attested from early 14c.
recollect: 1559, from L. recollectus, pp. of recolligere, lit. "to collect again," from re- "again" + colligere "gather" (see collect).
recombinant: 1942, from recombine (v.), from re- "back, again" + combine (q.v.).
recommence: 1481, from O.Fr. recommencer (11c.), from re- "back, again" + commencer (see commence).
recommend: late 14c., "praise, present as worthy," from M.L. recommendare (1216), from L. re-, intensive prefix, + commendare "commit to one's care, commend" (see commend). Related: Recommendation (early 15c.).
recommission: 1858, in ref. to Navy ships, from re- "back, again" + commission (q.v.).
recompense (n.): late 14c. (recompensation), from O.Fr. recompense (13c.), from L.L. recompensare, from L. re- "again" + compensare "balance out," lit. "weigh together" (see compensate). The verb is attested from 1422.
reconcile: c.1300, of persons, from L. reconcilare "to bring together again," from re- "again" + concilare "make friendly" (see conciliate). Reflexive sense is recorded from 1535. Meaning "to make (discordant facts or statements) consistent" is from 1565.
recondite: 1649, "removed or hidden from view," from L. reconditus, pp. of recondere "store away," from re- "away, back" + condere "to store, hide, put together," from con- "together" + -dere "to put, place." Meaning "removed from ordinary understanding, profound" is from 1652; of writers or sources, "obscure," it is recorded from 1817.
recondition: 1920, from re- "back, again" + condition (v.).
reconnaissance: 1810, from Fr. reconnaissance "act of surveying," lit. "recognition," from O.Fr. reconoissance (see recognizance). U.S. military abbreviation recon is attested from 1918.
reconnoiter: 1707, from Fr. reconnoître, from M.Fr. reconoistre "to identify" (see recognize).
reconsider: 1571, from re- "back, again" + consider (q.v.).
reconstitute: 1812, from re- "back, again" + constitute (q.v.).
reconstruct: 1768, "to build anew," from re- "back, again" + construct (q.v.). Meaning "to restore (something) mentally" is attested from 1862. Reconstruction is attested from 1791, "action or process of reconstructing. Specific sense in U.S. history (usually with a capital R-) is attested from 1865. It was used earlier during Amer. Civil War in ref. to reconstitution of the union.
record (v.): early 13c., "to get by heart," from O.Fr. recorder "repeat, recite, report," from L. recordari "remember, call to mind," from re- "restore" + cor (gen. cordis) "heart" (as the metaphoric seat of memory, cf. learn by heart); see heart. Meaning "set down in writing" first attested c.1300; that of "put sound or pictures on disks, tape, etc." is from 1892.
record (n.): c.1300, "testimony committed to writing," from O.Fr. record, from recorder "to record" (see record (v.)). Meaning "written account of some event" is from 1611. Meaning "disk on which sounds or images have been recorded" is first attested 1878. That of "best achievement in sports, etc." is from 1883. Phrase on the record is from 1900; adv. phrase off the record "confidentially" is attested from 1933.