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recitation (n.)
late 15c., recitacion, "account, description, act of detailing, recital," from Old French récitation (14c.) and directly from Latin recitationem (nominative recitatio) "public reading, a reading aloud of judicial decrees or literary works," noun of action from past-participle stem of recitare "read out, read aloud" (see recite).
Meaning "act of repeating aloud what has been committed to memory" is from 1620s; that of "repetition of a prepared lesson" by a pupil or students is by 1770, American English.
updated on May 19, 2021
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Dictionary entries near recitation
reciprocity
reciprocornous
recirculate
recision
recital
recitation
recitative
recite
reck
reckless
recklessly