Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

recite

[ri-sahyt]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object), re·cit·ed, re·cit·ing.
  1. to repeat the words of, as from memory, especially in a formal manner: to recite a lesson.
  2. to repeat (a piece of poetry or prose) before an audience, as for entertainment.
  3. to give an account of: to recite one's adventures.
  4. to enumerate.
verb (used without object), re·cit·ed, re·cit·ing.
  1. to recite a lesson or part of a lesson for a teacher.
  2. to recite or repeat something from memory.

Origin of recite

1400–50; late Middle English reciten < Latin recitāre to read aloud, equivalent to re- re- + citāre to summon, cite1
Related formsre·cit·a·ble, adjectivere·cit·er, nounpre·re·cite, verb (used with object), pre·re·cit·ed, pre·re·cit·ing.un·re·cit·ed, adjectivewell-re·cit·ed, adjective

Synonyms

See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
3. narrate, describe. See relate. 4. count, number, detail.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for recited

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Because you recited that doggerel about The Run of Crusader.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • Neither he nor the men to whom he recited or sang would have understood that mood.

    The Book of Old English Ballads

    George Wharton Edwards

  • He recited poetry badly, but adored hearing it well recited.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • You could have recited the Gettysburg Address and we'd never have known until it returned.

  • At Mr. Sheridan's earnest entreaties, I recited some passages from Shakespeare.

British Dictionary definitions for recited

recite

verb
  1. to repeat (a poem, passage, etc) aloud from memory before an audience, teacher, etc
  2. (tr) to give a detailed account of
  3. (tr) to enumerate (examples, etc)
Derived Formsrecitable, adjectivereciter, noun

Word Origin

C15: from Latin recitāre to cite again, from re- + citāre to summon; see cite
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for recited

recite

v.

early 15c., from Old French reciter (12c.) and directly from Latin recitare "read aloud, read out, repeat from memory, declaim," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + citare "to summon" (see cite). Related: Recited; reciting.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper