Etymograph

English

recept

Recept comes from Latin receptum ‘thing received’, from recipiō ‘take back’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyéti1‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjō2‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiō2
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiō3‘take, seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErecipiō4‘take back’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreceptum4‘thing received’
  8. Englishtodayrecept4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin recipio
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English recept

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kap-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjōreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*kapyétiWiktionary, Proto-Italic *kapjō‘to be grasping’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kapjōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV‘to take, seize’reconstructed
  4. Archaic Latinc. 700–75 BCEkapiōWiktionary, Latin capio, which cites LIV
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcapiōWiktionary, Latin recipio‘take, seize’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CErecipiōWiktionary, English recept‘take back’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEreceptumWiktionary, English recept‘thing received’
  8. EnglishtodayreceptWiktionary, English recept

The story

Coined by G.J. Romanes in 1888.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kap-

had, head, capital, heavy, catch, capacity, behavior, captain, escape, achieve, heavily, chapter, cape, except, chef, occupation, cattle, cabin, haven, chapel, behave, capitol, capita, hawk, acceptance, captive, chaplain, cad, captivity, mischief, precipitation, conceive, mischievous, conceivable, haves, capillary, chieftain, capo, cabana, occipital, 137 more

through Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti ‘to be grasping’

heave, heaving, heft, 27 more

through Proto-Italic *kapjō ‘to take, seize’

case, capsule, cashier, chassis, cassette, casket, cajon, kas, chasse, 26 more

through Archaic Latin kapiō

acceptable, imperceptible, 23 more

through Latin capiō ‘take, seize’

cash, capable, cable, chase, cop, receive, accept, capture, anticipation, anticipate, perception, cater, caption, susceptible, deceive, deception, deceit, preoccupation, deceptive, captivate, captor, perceptible, sashay, preceptor, 25 more

through Latin recipiō ‘take back’

recipe, recipient, receivable, 1 more

Today it means

noun An idea that is formed by the repetition of percepts.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “recept”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *kapjō, Latin capio, Latin recipio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *kap- / recept

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