Added 9 October 2026
recuse
/ɹɪˈkjuːz/ verb
Latin root: recūsāre Wiktionary
verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about recuse at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Disqualify oneself (as a judge) in a particular case.
- Challenge or except to a judge as being incompetent or interested, in canon and civil law.
Origin
From Late Middle English recusen, from Old French recuser (modern French récuser (“to challenge; to impugn; (formal) to make an objection; (law) to recuse”), and from its etymon Latin recūsāre, the present active infinitive of recūsō (“to decline, refuse, reject; (law) to object to, protest”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’, denoting opposition or reversal) + causa (“cause, reason; (law) case, claim; etc.”) + -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs). Doublet of rouse and possibly ruse. Cognates * Catalan recusar * French récuser * Italian ricusare * Old Occitan recuzar * Portuguese recusar * Spanish recusar
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)