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definitions

recent

[ ree-suhnt ]
/ ˈri sənt /
||

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.

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Nearby words

receiving line, receiving order, receiving set, recency effect, recension, recency, recently, recept, receptacle, receptible, reception

Origin of recent

1525–35; < Latin recent- (stem of recēns) fresh, new
SYNONYMS FOR recent
1 fresh, new. See modern.
ANTONYMS FOR recent
1 early, old.
Related formsre·cen·cy, re·cent·ness, nounre·cent·ly, adverbqua·si-re·cent, adjectivequa·si-re·cent·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for recency

British Dictionary definitions for recency (1 of 2)

recent

/ (ˈriːsənt) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for recency (2 of 2)

Recent

/ (ˈriːsənt) /

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.").

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Science definitions for recency

Recent

[ rē′sənt ]

See Holocene.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.