recent

[ree-suhnt]

adjective

of late occurrence, appearance, or origin; lately happening, done, made, etc.: recent events; a recent trip.

not long past: in recent years.

of or belonging to a time not long past.

(initial capital letter) Geology. noting or pertaining to the present epoch, originating at the end of the glacial period, about 10,000 years ago, and forming the latter half of the Quaternary Period; Holocene.

noun

Also called Holocene. (initial capital letter) Geology. the Recent Epoch or Series.

Origin of recent

1525–35; < Latin recent- (stem of recēns) fresh, new

Related formsre·cen·cy, re·cent·ness, nounre·cent·ly, adverbqua·si-re·cent, adjectivequa·si-re·cent·ly, adverb

Synonyms for recent

1. fresh, new. See modern.

Antonyms for recent

1. early, old.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for recency

Historical Examples of recency

For owing to their recency the knowledge of them still remains distinct.
The Histories of Polybius, Vol. I (of 2)
Polybius
This is the natural consequence of recency of settlement and rapid increase.
Daniel Webster for Young Americans
Daniel Webster
Can the law of effect be interpreted as an instance of the sub-law of recency?
Psychology
Robert S. Woodworth
Japanese work has been severely criticized, but the recency of the introduction of the cotton industry must not be forgotten.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 5
Various
We may thus represent to the eye the recency of man's appearance, so far as at present known to science.
The Meeting-Place of Geology and History
Sir John William Dawson

British Dictionary definitions for recency

recent

adjective

having appeared, happened, or been made not long ago; modern, fresh, or new

Derived Formsrecently, adverbrecentness or recency, noun

Word Origin for recent

C16: from Latin recens fresh; related to Greek kainos new

Recent

adjective, noun

geology another word for Holocene

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 recency

recent

adj.

early 15c., from Latin recentem (nominative recens) "lately done or made, new, fresh, young," from re- (see re-) + PIE root *ken- "fresh, new, young" (cf. Greek kainos "new;" Sanskrit kanina- "young;" Old Irish cetu- "first;" Old Church Slavonic načino "to begin," koni "beginning"). Related: Recently; recentness (1670s, but OED reports recency (1610s) was "Common in 19th c.").

recency in Science

Recent

[rē′sənt]

See Holocene.