recruiting
UK[rɪˈkruːtɪŋ]US[rɪˈkruːtɪŋ]
verb (gerund or present participle)
The activity of finding and hiring new people to work for a company or organization.
verb (gerund or present participle)
The activity of persuading people to join a group, especially the armed forces.
Morpheme Breakdown
re
cruit
ing
re
again
cruit
to grow
ing
verb suffix
Etymology
The word 'recruiting' originates from the French verb 'recruter', which emerged in the mid-17th century. 'Recruter' itself was formed from a recombination of 're-' (again) and a stem derived from 'croître' (to grow). The core logic is one of "causing to grow again" or "reinforcing". Initially used in a military context to describe replenishing diminished forces with new personnel, the term's semantic field expanded to encompass the general process of seeking and enrolling new members for any organization or cause. Thus, the literal idea of "growing anew" evolved into the modern abstract concept of systematic talent acquisition.
Analysis
Structure: re (again) + cruit (to grow) + ing (verb suffix)
- re: A Latin prefix meaning "again" or "back".
- cruit: Derived from the Old French verb "croistre" (to grow), itself from the Latin verb "crescere" (to grow, arise).
- ing: An English suffix used to form the present participle or gerund of verbs.
Examples
The company is actively recruiting for several engineering positions.
His main responsibility involves recruiting volunteers for the charity event.
The army intensified its recruiting efforts during the war.