recess

Where “recess” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
2. 2
   A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
3. 3
   A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.
4. 4
   A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
5. 5
   A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
6. 6
   A hidden, innermost, or inaccessible place or part of a place.
7. 7
   A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
8. 8
   A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
9. 9
   A temporary stoppage of an activity; a break, a pause.
10. 10
    An act of retiring or withdrawing; a moving back.
11. 11
    A decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire or the Hanseatic League.
12. 12
    An act of retiring or withdrawing from public life, society, etc.; also, an act of living in retirement or seclusion, or a period of such retirement or seclusion.
13. 13
    Leisure, relaxation.
14. 14
    The state of being withdrawn.
15. 15
    A departure from a norm or position.
16. 16
    A time interval during which something ceases; an interruption, a respite.
17. 17
    An overall-concave, reentrant section of a sinuous fold and thrust belt, thrust sheet, or a single thrust fault, caused by one or more of: deformation (folding and faulting) of strata and geologic structures during orogenesis, differences in the angle of critical taper during orogenesis, or differing erosional level of the present geomorphological surface.
18. 18
    An extension or outpouching of a cavity (e.g. articular recess, peritoneal recess,...)

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

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ercess,rceess,reccess,reces,recses,reecss,rrecess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of recess - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Frequently Asked Questions