recipio

Latin

Alternative forms

(imperative in medical contexts): r., ℞, Rx

Etymology

From re- +‎ capiō (“take, seize”), with characteristic vowel reduction of unstressed /a/ in Old Latin (< *récapiō).

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /reˈki.pi.oː/, [rɛˈkɪpioː]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /reˈt͡ʃi.pi.o/, [reˈt͡ʃiːpio]

Verb

recipiō (present infinitive recipere, perfect active recēpī, supine receptum); third conjugation iō-variant

(transitive) to take back, (i.e., regain possession of something)
(transitive, of a city) to recapture
- 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 26.1:
  Ea tum cura maxime intentos habebat Romanos, non ab ira tantum, quae in nullam unquam ciuitatem iustior fuit, quam quod urbs tam nobilis ac potens, sicut defectione sua traxerat aliquot populos, ita recepta inclinatura rursus animos uidebatur ad ueteris imperii respectum.
  This concern in particular troubled the mindful Romans at the time, not so much because of anger, which has never been more justified against any other city, rather because a city so noble and powerful, in the same way that it had attracted the support of a number of communities by its revolt, was thought would again turn attention back towards respect for the previous government once recaptured.
(transitive) to receive, accept, admit
accipere beneficium ab aliquo ― to receive favor from someone
- 1st c. BC, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum :
  Numestium ex litteris tuis studiose scriptis libenter in amicitiam recepi.
  I have gladly received Numestius into friendship on account of your eagerly written letters.
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.20:
  quem [...] ne qua civitas suis finibus recipiat
  that no state should admit him within its territories
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.26:
  Timor misericordiam non recipit
  The fear does not admit to the mercy
(transitive) to take upon oneself, undertake, accept (esp. when done as a duty or under an obligation. Cf. suscipiō)
(transitive) to retreat, withdraw
Eorum impetum Galli sustinere non potuerunt atque in fugam coniecti multis amissis se ad agmen receperunt ― The Gauls could not sustain their attack but were put to flight, and having lost a great number of men, retreated to their main body (Caesar, de Bello Gallico, VII, 13)

Gladiis destrictis portas occupaverunt suosque omnes incolumes receperunt ― having drawn the swords, they occupied the gates and withdrew all their men safe (Caesar, de Bello Gallico, VII, 12)
(transitive) to endure, tolerate, allow
(transitive) to rescue, secure, save

Conjugation

Conjugation of recipiō (third conjugation iō-variant)

indicative		singular				plural
indicative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	recipiō	recipis		recipit	recipimus	recipitis		recipiunt
	imperfect	recipiēbam	recipiēbās		recipiēbat	recipiēbāmus	recipiēbātis		recipiēbant
	future	recipiam	recipiēs		recipiet	recipiēmus	recipiētis		recipient
	perfect	recēpī	recēpistī		recēpit	recēpimus	recēpistis		recēpērunt, recēpēre
	pluperfect	recēperam	recēperās		recēperat	recēperāmus	recēperātis		recēperant
	future perfect	recēperō	recēperis		recēperit	recēperimus	recēperitis		recēperint
	sigmatic future¹	recepsō	recepsis		recepsit	recepsimus	recepsitis		recepsint
passive	present	recipior	reciperis, recipere		recipitur	recipimur	recipiminī		recipiuntur
	imperfect	recipiēbar	recipiēbāris, recipiēbāre		recipiēbātur	recipiēbāmur	recipiēbāminī		recipiēbantur
	future	recipiar	recipiēris, recipiēre		recipiētur	recipiēmur	recipiēminī		recipientur
	perfect	receptus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	receptus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	receptus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular				plural
subjunctive		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	recipiam	recipiās		recipiat	recipiāmus	recipiātis		recipiant
	imperfect	reciperem	reciperēs		reciperet	reciperēmus	reciperētis		reciperent
	perfect	recēperim	recēperīs		recēperit	recēperīmus	recēperītis		recēperint
	pluperfect	recēpissem	recēpissēs		recēpisset	recēpissēmus	recēpissētis		recēpissent
	sigmatic aorist¹	recepsim	recepsīs		recepsīt	recepsīmus	recepsītis		recepsint
passive	present	recipiar	recipiāris, recipiāre		recipiātur	recipiāmur	recipiāminī		recipiantur
	imperfect	reciperer	reciperēris, reciperēre		reciperētur	reciperēmur	reciperēminī		reciperentur
	perfect	receptus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	receptus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular				plural
imperative		first	second		third	first	second		third
active	present	—	recipe		—	—	recipite		—
active	future	—	recipitō		recipitō	—	recipitōte		recipiuntō
passive	present	—	recipere		—	—	recipiminī		—
passive	future	—	recipitor		recipitor	—	—		recipiuntor
non-finite forms		infinitive				participle
non-finite forms		active		passive		active		passive
present		recipere		recipī		recipiēns		—
future		receptūrum esse		receptum īrī		receptūrus		recipiendus, recipiundus
perfect		recēpisse		receptum esse		—		receptus
future perfect		—		receptum fore		—		—
perfect potential		receptūrum fuisse		—		—		—
verbal nouns		gerund					supine
		genitive	dative		accusative	ablative	accusative		ablative
		recipiendī	recipiendō		recipiendum	recipiendō	receptum		receptū

¹At least one use of the Old Latin "sigmatic future" and "sigmatic aorist" tenses is attested, which are used by Old Latin writers; most notably Plautus and Terence. The sigmatic future is generally ascribed a future or future perfect meaning, while the sigmatic aorist expresses a possible desire ("might want to").

Synonyms

(regain): reciperō, revocō
(accept): accipiō, ascīscō, sūmō, concipiō
(tolerate): tolerō, sustineō, patiō, perferō, accipiō, sufferō, subeō, sustentō, sinō, dūrō, perpetior, ferō
(retire): facessō, dēcēdō, discēdō, deficiō, cēdō, concēdō, excēdō, regredior, subtrahō, subdūcō, inclīnō, recēdō, āmoveō, vertō, referō

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “regain”): reddo, remitto, dedo
(antonym(s) of “accept”): negō, dēnegō, recusō
(antonym(s) of “retire”): prōgredior, prōdeō, prōcēdō, prōficiō, aggredior, ēvehō, incēdō, accēdō, adeō

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Italo-Romance:
- Italian: ricevere
- Sicilian: ricìviri, arricìviri
Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: recire
North Italian:
- Friulian: ricevi
- Ladin: rezever
- Ligurian: riçéive
- Piedmontese: arsèive
- Romansch: retschaiver, retscheiver, ratschever, retschever, artschaiver
- Venetan: riséver, risevar
Gallo-Romance:
- Franco-Provençal: recêvre
- Old French: recevoir, receivre (archaic or northern), reçoivre (see there for further descendants)
Occitano-Romance:
- Old Catalan: recebre, reebre, rebre
  - Catalan: rebre
- Gascon: recéber, arrecéber, arcéber
- Old Occitan: recebre
  - Occitan: recebre
Ibero-Romance:
- Asturian: recibir
- Old Galician-Portuguese: receber
  - Galician: receber (non-standard)
  - Portuguese: receber
- Spanish: recibir, recebir (obsolete)
  - → Galician: recibir
Borrowings:
- → Italian: recepire
  - → Piedmontese: recepì
- → Romanian: recepe

References

recipio in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2025), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “rĕcĭpĕre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 10: R, page 148