LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

recessus

recessus m (genitive recessūs)
Classical[rɛˈkɛs.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[reˈt͡ʃɛs.sus]

Meaning

  1. masculinea going back, receding, retiring, retreat, departure
  2. masculinemetonymicallya distant, retired, secluded or secret spot; a nook, corner, retreat, recess
    Est prope Cimmerios longo spelunca recessu,Near the Cimmerians there is a cave with long recess, a hollow mountain, the home and sanctuary of sluggish Sleep.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses XI.593
  3. figurativelymasculineretreat, withdrawal
  4. New Latinmasculinerecess
    recessus saccifōrmissacciform recess

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativerecessusrecessūs
genitiverecessūsrecessuum
dativerecessuīrecessibus
accusativerecessumrecessūs
ablativerecessūrecessibus
vocativerecessusrecessūs

rĕcessus, a, um, Part. and P. a., v. recedo.
rĕcessus, ūs, m. recedo,
I. a going back, receding, retiring, retreat, departure; opp. accessus (class.; cf. receptus): accessus ad res salutares, a pestiferis recessus, Cic. N. D. 2, 12, 34: ut luna accessu et recessu suo lumen accipiat, id. de Or. 3, 45, 178.— Of the ebb of the tide: quid de fretis aut de marinis aestibus plura dicam? quorum accessus et recessus lunae motu gubernantur, Cic. Div. 2, 14, 34; so Col. 8, 17, 9: recessum primis ultimi non dabant, i. e. means of retreat, * Caes. B. G. 5, 43; Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 10, 1: gemmae, its removal from the eye, Plin. 37, 6, 23, § 88: cum processui et recessui cani juberet, i. e. in going home, Treb. Gall. 17, 3; Amm. 20, 11, 8.—
B. Meton. (abstr. pro concreto), a distant, retired, or secret spot, a nook, corner, retreat, recess (acc. to recedo, I. B. 2.; syn.: secessus, secretum): mihi solitudo et recessus provincia est, Cic. Att. 12, 26, 2; cf.: nos terrarum ac libertatis extremos recessus ipse ac sinus famae in hunc diem defendit, our remote position itself and our distant renown, Tac. Agr. 30: nec, sicut aestivas aves, statim auctumno tecta ac recessum circumspicere, Liv. 5, 6, 2: cum vox quasi in recessu oris auditur, Quint. 1, 5, 32: hic spelunca fuit, vasto submota recessu, in a deep recess, Verg. A. 8, 193; cf. Ov. M. 3, 157; 10, 691; 11, 592: ubi marmoreo Superi sedere recessu, in the marble hall, id. ib. 1, 177: oculi in recessu cavo, Plin. 8, 33, 51, § 121.—In plur., Verg. A. 11, 527; Liv. 38, 45 (along with anguli); Vell. 2, 32, 4; Plin. 3, 1, 1, § 5; Quint. 11, 2, 18; Ov. M. 7, 670; 13, 902; id. F. 1, 555; Curt. 7, 2, 22.—
II. Trop.: tum accessus a te ad causam facti, tum recessus, advances and retreats, Cic. Fam. 9, 14, 7: habeat illa in dicendo admiratio ac summa laus umbram aliquam et recessum, quo magis id, quod erit illuminatum, extare atque eminere videatur, somewhat of shade and background, Cic. de Or. 3, 26, 101; cf.: haec professio plus habet in recessu quam fronte promittit, Quint. 1, 4, 2.—In plur.: vita hominum altos recessus magnasque latebras habet, Plin. Ep. 3, 3, 6: in animis hominum tantae latebrae sunt et tanti recessus, Cic. Marc. 7, 22: strenua ingenia, quo plus recessus sumunt, leisure, Val. Max. 3, 6, 1.

Origins

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinrecessus

Latin cēdō Latin recēdō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin recessus From recēdō (“to go back, give ground, retire, withdraw”) + -tus (action noun suffix).

Descendants
  • Englishrecess
  • Frenchrecès
  • Italianrecesso
  • Portugueserecesso
  • Spanishreceso

Quick answers

What does recessus mean in Latin?
recessus, a noun, means “a going back, receding, retiring, retreat, departure; retreat, withdrawal; recess”.
What is the genitive of recessus?
The genitive singular is recessūs. recessus is masculine, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce recessus?
In classical Latin, [rɛˈkɛs.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [reˈt͡ʃɛs.sus].
Where does recessus come from?
Proto-Italic *wre- → Latin recessus.