recipio

• (imperative in medical contexts): r., ℞, Rx

From re- +‎ capiō (“take, seize”), with characteristic vowel reduction of unstressed /a/ in Old Latin (< *récapiō).

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [rɛˈkɪ.pi.oː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [reˈt͡ʃiː.pi.o]

recipiō (present infinitive recipere, perfect active recēpī, supine receptum); third conjugation iō-variant

1. (transitive) to take back, (i.e., regain possession of something)
2. (transitive, of a city) to recapture
   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 26.1:

     Ea tum cura maxime intentos habebat Romanos, non ab ira tantum, quae in nullam unquam ciuitatem iustior fuit, quam quod urbs tam nobilis ac potens, sicut defectione sua traxerat aliquot populos, ita recepta inclinatura rursus animos uidebatur ad ueteris imperii respectum.

     This concern in particular troubled the mindful Romans at the time, not so much because of anger, which has never been more justified against any other city, rather because a city so noble and powerful, in the same way that it had attracted the support of a number of communities by its revolt, was thought would again turn attention back towards respect for the previous government once recaptured.

3. (transitive) to receive, accept, admit

   accipere beneficium ab aliquo ― to receive favor from someone

   • 1st c. BC, Marcus Tullius Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum:

     Numestium ex litteris tuis studiose scriptis libenter in amicitiam recepi.

     I have gladly received Numestius into friendship on account of your eagerly written letters.

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.20:

     quem [...] ne qua civitas suis finibus recipiat

     that no state should admit him within its territories

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.26:

     Timor misericordiam non recipit

     The fear does not admit to the mercy

4. (transitive) to take upon oneself, undertake, accept (esp. when done as a duty or under an obligation. Cf. suscipiō)
5. (reflexive) to retreat, withdraw, return

   Eorum impetum Galli sustinere non potuerunt atque in fugam coniecti multis amissis se ad agmen receperunt ― The Gauls could not sustain their attack but were put to flight, and having lost a great number of men, retreated to their main body (Caesar, de Bello Gallico, VII, 13)

6. (transitive) to endure, tolerate, allow
7. (transitive) to rescue, secure, save

¹At least one use of the Old Latin "sigmatic future" and "sigmatic aorist" tenses is attested, which are used by Old Latin writers; most notably Plautus and Terence. The sigmatic future is generally ascribed a future or future perfect meaning, while the sigmatic aorist expresses a possible desire ("might want to").

• (regain): reciperō, revocō
• (accept): accipiō, ascīscō, sūmō, concipiō
• (tolerate): tolerō, sustineō, patiō, perferō, accipiō, sufferō, subeō, sustentō, sinō, dūrō, perpetior, ferō
• (retire): facessō, dēcēdō, discēdō, deficiō, cēdō, abscēdō, concēdō, excēdō, regredior, subtrahō, subdūcō, inclīnō, recēdō, āmoveō, vertō, referō
• (return): redeō, revertor, regredior, reveniō

• (antonym(s) of “regain”): reddo, remitto, dedo
• (antonym(s) of “accept”): negō, dēnegō, recusō
• (antonym(s) of “retire”): prōgredior, prōdeō, prōcēdō, prōficiō, aggredior, ēvehō, incēdō, accēdō, adeō

• recipio in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2025), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “rĕcĭpĕre”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 10: R, page 148

• “recipio”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “recipio”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• recipio in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to gain some one's friendship; to become intimate with: in amicitiam alicuius recipi
    
  • to take courage again: animum recipere (Liv. 2. 50)
    
  • to take a person under one's protection: in fidem recipere aliquem (B. G. 2. 15. 1)
    
  • to recover one's reason, be reasonable again: ad bonam frugem se recipere
    
  • to welcome to one's house (opp. to shut one's door against some one): tecto, (in) domum suam aliquem recipere (opp. prohibere aliquem tecto, domo)
    
  • to enroll as a citizen, burgess: in civitatem recipere, ascribere, asciscere aliquem
    
  • to retake a town: oppidum recipere
    
  • to deal mercifully with some one: in fidem recipere aliquem (Fam. 13. 16)
    
  • to withdraw one's forces: se recipere (B. G. 7. 20)
    
  • to save oneself by flight: se fuga recipere (B. G. 1. 11)
    
  • (ambiguous) it is traditional usage: more, usu receptum est
    
  • (ambiguous) the cavalry covers the retreat: equitatus tutum receptum dat