recollect1
/ˌrɛkəˈlɛkt
/verb [with object]
Remember (something); call to mind: he could not quite recollect the reason ‘Can you recollect how he reacted?’...
- She discovered that it was possible to wake up weeping, crushed by grief even before her conscious mind could recollect the source of the pain.
- He racked his mind to recollect the whole conversation - then he got it.
- She has told the tribunal she recollects the meeting and recalls that most of her Cabinet colleagues were there.
Synonyms
remember, recall, call to mind, think of;
think back to, cast one's mind back to, look back on;
reminisce about, hark back to, summon up, revive the memory of;
Scottish mind
archaic bethink oneself of
Origin
Early 16th century (in the sense 'gather'): from Latin recollect- 'gathered back', from the verb recolligere, from re- 'back' + colligere 'collect'.
collect from Late Middle English:
This comes from the Latin verb colligere, from col- ‘together’ and legere ‘choose or collect’. The collect meaning ‘prayer’ (Middle English) is from Latin collecta ‘a gathering together’—an obsolete use of collect was as a term for ‘a gathering’ for an act of worship. Recollect (early 16th century) is literally ‘to collect again’. Coil (early 16th century) is less obviously from the Latin. Something coiled up is gathered in a specific way.
recollect2
/ˌriːkəˈlɛkt/verb [with object]
1 (recollect oneself) Bring oneself back to a state of composure: he had a look round, recollected himself, and prepared for the day...
- She had needed to take a break from her tale for a moment to recollect herself, and bring her mind back to reality for a moment.
- It's a time of sadness and grieving and recollecting yourself and trying to keep a center.
- ‘It's getting late, Fred,’ he said, suddenly recollecting himself.
2 rare Collect or gather together again: the blood is thence recollected dorsally into further arterial vessels
Origin
Early 17th century: later form of recollect1, from re- 'once more' + the verb collect1.