recursive

English

Examples (sense 2)

The factorial function defined recursively:

f (0) = 1

f (n) = n \times f (n - 1)

where $n$ is any natural number greater than 0

Etymology

Learned borrowing from New Latin recursīvus. Equivalent to recurse +‎ -ive.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈkɜː(ɹ)sɪv/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)sɪv

Adjective

The Koch snowflake (7 iterations), a fractal constructed by a recursive algorithm (sense 2 / sense 3)

recursive (comparative more recursive, superlative most recursive)

Drawing upon, invoking, or referring back to itself.
the recursive nature of stories which borrow from each other
(mathematics, not comparable) Having to do with an object (typically a function or formula) which is defined in terms of the object itself.
(programming, not comparable) Having to do with an algorithm, program, subroutine, procedure, function, or other block of code that calls itself.
(computing theory, not comparable) Having to do with a function which can be computed by a theoretical model of a computer in a finite amount of time.(Can we add an example for this sense?)
(computing theory, not comparable) Having to do with a set whose characteristic function is recursive (sense 4).(Can we add an example for this sense?)

Synonyms

self-referential

Antonyms

non-recursive

Hypernyms

(of a set whose characteristic function is recursive): recursively enumerable

Hyponyms

(of a function): primitive recursive, tail recursive

Derived terms

co-recursive
filtered-popping recursive transition network
left-recursive
nonrecursive
recursion
recursive acronym
recursive compound word
recursive conundrum
recursive definition
recursive descent
recursive function
recursive grammar
recursive humor
recursively
recursiveness
recursive neural network
recursive self-improvement
recursivity
right-recursive
subrecursive
superrecursive
transrecursive

Translations

referring back to itself

Dutch: recursief (nl)
Finnish: itseään toistava
French: récursif (fr)
German: rekursiv (de)
Greek: επαναλαμβανόμενος (el) m (epanalamvanómenos), επανερχόμενος m (epanerchómenos), αναδρομικός (el) m (anadromikós)
Portuguese: recursivo (pt)
Serbo-Croatian: рекурзиван
Spanish: recursivo (es)
Ukrainian: рекурси́вний (rekursývnyj)

mathematics: of a formula or object defined in terms of itself

Arabic: عَوْدِيّ m (ʕawdiyy)
Czech: rekurzivní
Dutch: recursief (nl)
Finnish: rekursiivinen
French: récursif (fr)
German: rekursiv (de)
Greek: αναδρομικός (el) m (anadromikós)
Polish: rekurencyjny m
Portuguese: recursivo (pt)
Spanish: iterativo (es), recurrente (es)

computing: of an algorithm or block of code that calls itself

Arabic: عَوْدِيّ m (ʕawdiyy)
Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Chinese:
Cantonese: 遞迴 / 递回 (dai⁶ wui⁴)

Mandarin: 遞歸 / 递归 (zh) (dìguī)

Min Nan: 遞迴 / 递回
Czech: rekurzivní
Dutch: recursief (nl)
Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: rekursiivinen
French: récursif (fr)
German: rekursiv (de)
Greek: αναδρομικός (el) m (anadromikós)
Hungarian: rekurzív (hu)
Japanese: please add this translation if you can
Polish: rekurencyjny m
Portuguese: recursivo (pt)
Romanian: recursiv (ro)
Russian: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: recursivo (es)
Thai: please add this translation if you can

computing theory: of a function which can be computed in a finite amount of time

Arabic: عَوْدِيّ m (ʕawdiyy)
Dutch: recursief (nl)
Finnish: rekursiivinen
German: rekursiv (de)
Greek: αναδρομικός (el) m (anadromikós)
Persian: بازگشتی (fa)
Portuguese: recursivo (pt)

computing theory: of a set whose characteristic function is recursive

Arabic: عَوْدِيّ m (ʕawdiyy)
Dutch: recursief (nl)
Finnish: rekursiivinen
French: récursif (fr)
German: rekursiv (de)
Greek: αναδρομικός (el) m (anadromikós)
Serbo-Croatian: rekurzivan (sh)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

French: ^{(please verify)} récursif (fr)
Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} rekurzivan (sh)