recollected
Meaning
(of a person, state, or manner) calm and composed; having gathered one's thoughts and feelings.
(past tense and past participle of 'recollect') remembered; brought back to mind.
Structure
Usage
after a moment of meditation, she felt calm and recollected.
he suddenly recollected the promise he had made years ago.
the witness recollected the events of that night with surprising clarity.
Etymology
the word 'recollected' is built upon the verb 'recollect', which entered english in the 16th century from latin recolligere, via its past participle recollectus. the latin components are re- (again) and colligere (to gather), literally meaning "to gather again". this literal sense evolved into the abstract mental action of "gathering one's memories or thoughts again", hence "to remember". the adjectival use, describing a composed state, developed from the idea of having gathered and controlled one's scattered thoughts or emotions, thus achieving calm self-possession. the suffix -ed marks it as a participial adjective derived from this action.
Analysis
- re: a latin prefix meaning "again" or "back". - collect: from latin collectus, the past participle of colligere, meaning "to gather together". it comprises com- (together) + legere (to gather, pick). - ed: an english suffix forming past tenses of regular verbs and adjectives indicating a state or condition.