recapitulation

American  

[ree-kuh-pich-uh-ley-shuhn] / ˌri kəˌpɪtʃ əˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of recapitulating or the state of being recapitulated.

2. a brief review or summary, as of a speech.

3. Biology. the theory that the stages an organism passes through during its embryonic development repeat the evolutionary stages of structural change in its ancestral lineage.

4. Music. the modified restatement of the exposition following the development section in a sonata-form movement.

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recapitulation British  

/ ˌriːkəˌpɪtjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of recapitulating, esp summing up, as at the end of a speech

2. Also called: palingenesis.  biology the apparent repetition in the embryonic development of an animal of the changes that occurred during its evolutionary history Compare caenogenesis

3. music the repeating of earlier themes, esp when forming the final section of a movement in sonata form

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Other Word Forms

• recapitulative adjective
• recapitulatory adjective

Etymology

Origin of recapitulation

1350–1400; Middle English recapitulacioun < Late Latin recapitulātiōn- (stem of recapitulātiō ), equivalent to recapitulāt ( us ) ( recapitulate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

And the judge said the appeal bid did not add to the claim but was a "recapitulation of the case" that had previously been brought.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2024

Taking a page from the vacation school example, we should imagine it as a respite from the academic year rather than simply a recapitulation or extension of it.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2023

But for Madison, who wrote the amendment, it was a “superfluous” recapitulation of the principle that the federal government was one of enumerated, not inherent, powers.

From New York Times • Mar. 15, 2022

That first half-hour of testimony was sort of a microcosmic recapitulation of Palin’s 2008 debut on the national stage.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2022

Afterward there will be some chatter and recapitulation of what went on; nothing though like the action itself and the beat that pumps the heart.

From "Jazz" by Toni Morrison