recession

Borrowed from Latin recessiō, from recēdō (“recede, retreat”), from re- (“back”) + cēdō (“to go”).

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈsɛʃn̩/
• Rhymes: -ɛʃən
• Hyphenation: re‧ces‧sion

recession (countable and uncountable, plural recessions)

1. The act or an instance of receding or withdrawing.
   • a. 1667, Jeremy Taylor, “Of Growth in Sin”, in The Whole Works of the Right Rev. Jeremy Taylor, volume IV, new edition, London: Longman et al., published 1850, page 520:

     […] that light may break forth from the deepest enclosures of darkness, and mercy may rejoice upon the recessions of justice, and grace may triumph upon the ruin of sin, and God may be glorified in the miracles of our conversion, and the wonders of our preservation and glories of our being saved.

2. A period of reduced economic activity

   Statisticians often define a recession as negative real GDP growth during two consecutive quarters.

3. The ceremonial filing out of clergy and/or choir at the end of a church service.
4. The act of ceding something back.

• (receding) withdrawal
• (ceremonial) return procession

• (period of reduced economic activity): boom

• recessionary
• recessionista