Recitable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be repeated accurately from memory during presentation
2. Able to be performed or delivered from memory without error
3. Capable of being voiced or rendered exactly as remembered in front of an audience

Etymology: "Recitable" is a plain English formation: the verb "recite" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning "capable of being recited." "Recite" traces back through Old French "reciter" to Latin "recitare," which combined "re-" (back, again) with "citare," to summon or cite, so the verb once carried the sense of calling something out loud again. The suffix "-able" comes from Latin "-abilis," which turns a verb into an adjective meaning "able to be" the verb's action. The result is a word that has little history of its own. Its meaning follows directly from its parts, so the adjective needs no special story beyond the verb it grows from, and it is used mainly in discussions of what can be memorised and spoken aloud, such as poetry, scripture or speeches.

Synonyms: recitable, repeatable

Antonyms: unrecitable