Recur

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈkɜː/

Definitions

1. To take place again or repeatedly, such as an event or situation that returns after intervals
2. To occur once more after a period of time, often repeatedly or in cycles
3. To happen repeatedly or to appear again, frequently used to describe events or conditions that return

Etymology: Latin "recurrere" was a running word before it was a thinking word: it meant to hurry or run back, to return by the same path. The Romans built it from "re-", meaning back, and "currere", to run, the same root that gives English "current" and "courier." The verb passed into Old French as "recourir," where it could mean to run back to someone for help, which is how the sense of having recourse to something or someone took hold. English borrowed the word directly from Latin, and it kept the physical image of running back along a route. The shift from motion to repetition happened gradually. Once something runs back along its path, it can come round again, and a thing that comes round again is said to recur. The word therefore describes a pattern that keeps returning rather than a single trip backward.

Synonyms: repeat, reappear, resurface

Antonyms: cease, stop