Etymology

recant

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Today it means: To withdraw or repudiate a statement or opinion formerly expressed, especially formally and publicly. Full definition →

Latin recantare
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recant · verb1

  1. Latin · borrowed fromrecantare“to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke, charm back or away”
  2. English todayrecant

First attested in 1535, from Latin recantare (“to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke, charm back or away”), from re- (“back”) + canto (“to chant, to sing”), frequentative of cano.

recant · verb2

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinre-
  3. Old Frenchre-
  4. Middle Englishre-
  5. Englishre-
  6. Englishcant
  7. English todayrecant

From re- + cant.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.