recapitulate

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Late Latin recapitulatus, past participle of recapitulare (“to go over the main points of a thing again”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin re- (“again”) + capitulum (“a head, main part, chapter”); see capitulate.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹiːkəˈpɪtʃʊleɪt/

Verb

1. To summarize or repeat in concise form.

   The entire symphony was recapitulated in the last four bars.

2. (biology, of an organism) During an individual's development, to pass through stages corresponding to the species' stages of evolutionary development.
   • 1997, G. A. Bray, "Growth of a Molecular Base for Feeding," Obesity Research, vol. 5, no. 3 (May), p. 272:

     Similarly this concept of unity provided a powerful impetus for embryological studies and the idea that fetal development recapitulates the steps of phylogenetic development.

3. To reproduce or closely resemble (as in structure or function).

Synonyms

• (to summarize or repeat in concise form): recap, sum up

Derived terms

• ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny
• recapitulation

• recapitulative
• recapitulatory

Translations

to summarize or repeat in concise form

• Dutch: samenvatten (nl)
• Finnish: tehdä yhteenveto, vetää yhteen
• French: récapituler (fr)
• Irish: achoimrigh
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 要約する (yōyaku suru)
• Portuguese: recapitular (pt)
• Romanian: recapitula (ro)
• Scottish Gaelic: ath-innis

to repeat the evolutionary stages of an organism

• Finnish: rekapituloida, seurata (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} rekapitulieren (de)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} ricapitolare (it)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 요약한 위하여 (yoyakhan wihayeo)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} recapitulare
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 概述 (zh) (gaishu)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} recapitular (es)

Further reading

• “recapitulate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “recapitulate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “recapitulate”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• catapleurite

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Latin

Verb

(deprecated template usage) recapitulāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of recapitulō