Recreational

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to activities done for enjoyment and relaxation during one's free time
2. Pertaining to pursuits or activities that provide enjoyment and leisure during periods of personal time away from work
3. Connected to engaging in activities for fun, relaxation, or leisure outside of regular duties or obligations

Etymology: Recreation itself comes from Latin "recreare," meaning to restore or refresh, built from "re-" (again) and "creare" (to create). The sense of restoring strength through rest and play is what the modern word carries. Recreational is simply recreation with the adjective-forming suffix "-al" attached, a plain and transparent formation rather than a coinage with a dramatic story. The suffix has a long lineage of its own. It descends from Latin "-alis," which passed into Old French as "-al" and "-el," and from there into Middle English, where "-al" became a common way to turn nouns into adjectives. English then applied it freely to new nouns, so "recreational" follows the same pattern as words like "national" or "musical."

Synonyms: leisure, fun, amusement, entertaining, relaxational

Antonyms: professional, work-related, serious, formal