Etymograph

English

recant

Recant comes from Latin recantare ‘to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-‘to sing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-tireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō‘to sing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō‘sing’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanto‘to chant, to sing’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErecantare‘to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667recant

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*keh₂n-‘to sing’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*kh₂n-é-tireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kanō‘to sing’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanō‘sing’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcanto‘to chant, to sing’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CErecantare‘to sing back, reecho, sing again, repeat in singing, recant, recall, revoke’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1667recant

Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book IV: “How soon […] ease would recant / Vows made…”

first attested 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 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

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.

Linked words

through Proto-Italic *kanō ‘to sing’

enchanter, 42 more

through Latin canō ‘sing’

accent, incentive, chanting, bazooka, enchantment, cantor, enchant, chanson, chantry, chanter, canticle, 43 more

through Latin canto ‘to chant, to sing’

chant, shanty, incantation, 11 more

Today it means

verb To withdraw or repudiate a statement or opinion formerly expressed, especially formally and publicly.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- / recant

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