recursive

English

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recursion

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

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.
(computing, 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

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

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: please add this translation if you can
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

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

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)