recess

Definition

A depressed, hollow, or indented space; also, a hole or opening.

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Latin recessus (“act of going back, departure, receding, retiring; (figuratively) retreat, withdrawal; (metonymically) distant, secluded, or secret spot, corner, nook, retreat; recessed part, indentation”) (also Late Latin recessus (“decree or resolution of the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire”)), from recēdō (“to go back, recede, retire, withdraw; to go away, depart; (by extension) to disappear, vanish; to separate; to stand back, be distant; to yield”) (from re- (prefix meaning ‘back, backwards’) + cēdō (“to go, move, proceed”)) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns from verbs); influenced by Middle French recès, French recès (“a break, pause; break between classes in school; school vacation; ebbing of tide; reduction”) (also Anglo-Norman recès and Old French recès (“hiding place; hollow”). Noun sense 5 (“decree or resolution of the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.”) is possibly influenced by Italian recesso and refers to a decree or resolution made just before a meeting ends. The adjective and verb are derived from the noun. Cognates * Catalan recés * Italian recesso * Middle French recès (modern French recès) * Portuguese recesso * Spanish receso

Example Sentences

• "Put a generous recess behind the handle for finger space."
• "[T]he Sun, the great eye of the vvorld, prying into the receſſes of rocks, and the hollovvneſſe of valleys, receives ſpecies, or viſible forms from theſe objects, but he beholds them onely by that light vvhich proceeds from himſelf: […]"
• "VVithin a Mountain's hollovv VVomb, there lies / A large Receſs, conceal'd from Human Eyes; […]"

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