This week’s theme
Words that aren’t what they appear to be

This week’s words
plutography
miniate
irredentist
recurse
decalcomania

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(ri-KUHRS)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.
1. To describe, define, or perform something in terms of itself.
2. To perform an operation by repeated application of a technique, such that the results of the first step are put through the same technique again.

NOTES:

If you have seen a photo of a photo of a photo of a ... you have seen the results of a recursing. In computer programming, sometimes the most elegant solution is to recurse, for example, in calculating the factorial of a number. While computers are relatively recent, artists have been recursing for a long time. See also: mise en abyme.
What would it look like if someone were to curse in a recursive manner?

ETYMOLOGY:

From Latin recurrere (to run back), from re- (again) + currere (to run). Earliest documented use: 1965.

USAGE:

“But as I recursed through the doors time and time again, what was changing? Nothing seemed to change? I seemed to be caught in an endless loop that would eventually lead to madness.”
Gil Waugh; Mind Surfing; iUniverse; 2008.

“I will break society’s recursing corruption. Civilization is reaching its base case.”
Justin March; American Hex; BookRix; 2013.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: