recapitulate
verbCA, UK /ɹiːkəˈpɪtʃʊleɪt/
Etymology From Late Latin recapitulātus, past participle of recapitulāre (“to go over the main points of a thing again”), from re- (“again”) + capitulum (“head, main part, chapter”), from caput (“head”) + -ulum (diminutive suffix); see capitulate. By surface analysis, re- + capitulate.
1
Ambitransitive To summarize or repeat in concise form.
- The entire symphony was recapitulated in the last four bars.
- We still have five minutes left, so let's recapitulate the lecture.
2
To reproduce or closely resemble (as in structure or function).
- Being the Joshua/Atonement stanza of this cycle, the fact that the seven steps seem to recapitulate (or precapitulate?) the pattern of dominion is interesting. Situated at the very “gate” of Canaan, was this offer a temptation to be resisted like the plunder of Jericho (Joshua 6:18), or was it sin crouching at the door, the violence of Cain as “keeper” or shepherd over his brother (Genesis 4:7-8)? For Jacob, it was neither. He was waiting on God. For his sons, however, it was both. What Yahweh was offering freely they would take by force.2017 April 8, Michael Bull, “Sex, Lies, and Murder: Acts II & III”, in BibleMatrix.com, archived from the original on 16 Sep 2025:
3
Biology, Natural sciences Of an organism To mirror or repeat in analogous form, especially in reference to an individual's development passing through stages corresponding to the species' stages of evolutionary development.
- Similarly this concept of unity provided a powerful impetus for embryological studies and the idea that fetal development recapitulates the steps of phylogenetic development.1997 May, G. A. Bray, “Growth of a Molecular Base for Feeding”, in Obesity Research, volume 5, number 3, page 272:
- Synonyms
- recap, sum up, abridge, abstract, capsule, concise, docket, encapsulate, epitomize, gist, nutshell, outline, précis, recapitulate, redact, run over, run through, summarize, sum, synopsize, tl;dr, wrap up
- Derived terms
- ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, recapitulant, recapitulation, recapitulative, recapitulatory
- Related terms
- capitulate, in summary
- Hyponyms
- brief