recruit

Where does the word "recruit" come from? It comes from Latin recrescere, passing through French before entering English (1650s).

Recruit’s story begins in Latin: recrescere meant “to grow again, to replenish.” To grow again, to increase, from re- (again) and crescere (to grow). By 1600s, the word had taken hold in French as recrute. Narrowed in French to mean new troops raised to replenish an army. It reached English by 1650s as recruit. Settled as the English word for a newly enlisted member of an organization. Today, recruit means a person newly enlisted into an organization, especially the armed forces.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient recrescere "to grow again, to replenish", to grow again, to increase, from re- (again) and crescere (to grow).
2. Stage 2 · French · 1600s recrute "new troops raised to replenish an army", narrowed in French to mean new troops raised to replenish an army.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1650s recruit "a newly enlisted member of an organization or force", settled as the English word for a newly enlisted member of an organization.