1670s, from Latin recess-, past participle stem of recedere (see recede) + -ive. Linguistics sense is from 1879; in genetics, 1900, from German recessiv (Mendel, 1865). Related: Recessiveness.
receptive
receptor
recess
recession
recessional
recessive
recharge
rechargeable
recherche
recidivate
recidivism
