recursive
Meaning
Involving or characterized by a process that repeats itself indefinitely or until a specific condition is met, often by referring back to itself.
(Mathematics, Computing) Relating to or involving a recursive function or procedure.
Structure
Usage
The recursive function called itself to solve the smaller sub-problems.
The definition of "ancestor" is recursive: a parent of an individual or an ancestor of that individual's parent.
She explained the concept with a simple recursive story that never seemed to end.
Etymology
The word 'recursive' is built upon the Latin verb 'currere', meaning 'to run'. The prefix 're-', meaning 'again' or 'back', is attached to the root 'curs-', creating the sense of 'running back'. This literal idea of running back to a starting point evolved into the abstract concept of a process that loops back upon or refers to itself. The suffix '-ive' was added to form an adjective, solidifying its modern meaning in logic, mathematics, and computing to describe definitions, functions, or procedures that are self-referential.
Analysis
- re: Latin origin, a prefix meaning "again" or "back". - curs: Latin origin, from the stem of 'currere' (to run), acting as a root. - ive: Latin origin via French, an adjective-forming suffix meaning "tending to" or "performing the action of".