Recipe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɹɛs.ɪ.pi/

Definitions

1. A document that outlines the ingredients needed and the steps to prepare a specific dish
2. A set of detailed directions and ingredient list used to make a particular food item
3. A guide specifying what components to combine and how to cook them to create a meal

Etymology: The word "recipe" began as a bit of Latin instruction. "Recipe" is the second-person singular imperative of the Latin verb "recipere," meaning "receive" or "take," so it literally told the reader to take the listed ingredients. Physicians used it at the head of prescriptions, and the abbreviation "Rx" descends from the same tradition, often written with the symbol for "take" (℞). The Latin imperative passed into Middle French as "récipé," where it kept its medical sense of a remedy to be taken. From there it moved into English with the same prescription-like flavor, and the meaning gradually widened from medicine to cookery. Cookbook writers adopted the heading for ingredient-and-method lists, so a dish's instructions came to share the imperative that once directed a patient's dose.

Synonyms: formula, instruction, method

Antonyms: chaos, disorder