recuse

See also:récusé,récuse,andrecusé

English

WOTD – 2 March 2023

Etymology

From LateMiddle Englishrecusen,^[1]fromOld Frenchrecuser(modernFrenchrécuser(“to challenge; to impugn; (formal) to make an objection; (law) to recuse”),and from itsetymonLatinrecūsāre,thepresent active infinitiveofrecūsō(“to decline, refuse, reject; (law) to object to, protest”),fromre-(prefixmeaning ‘again’, denoting opposition or reversal)+causa(“cause, reason; (law) case, claim; etc.”)+-ō(suffixforming regular first-conjugation verbs).^[2]Doubletofrouseand possiblyruse.

cognates

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ɹɪˈkjuːz/
(General American)IPA^(key):/ɹiˈkjuz/,/ɹə-/
Audio(General American): (file)
Rhymes:-uːz
Hyphenation:re‧cuse

Verb

recuse(third-person singular simple presentrecuses,present participlerecusing,simple past and past participlerecused)

(transitive,oftenreflexive)
1. Torejectorrepudiate(anauthority,aperson,acourtjudgment,etc.).
  - [c.1421,J. B.,“XI. A Petition by J. B. (a Suspected Lollard) to KingHenry V.”,in Cecil Munro, editor,Letters of QueenMargaret of Anjouand BishopBeckingtonand Others. Written in the Reigns of Henry V. andHenry VI.[…],London:[…][John Bowyer Nichols and Sons] for theCamden Society,published1863,→OCLC,page28:
    And therfore, if ayenst this peticion any processe be made of any maner Juge spirituel or temporell, and soo the same John have wronge, thanne he provoketh and appelleth this cause directly to the rightwisness of god and to the liege lorde, ffor other juges in his matere he hath utterly suspecte, for greet wronges that he hath had, dreding to have more. He therfor hem utterlyrecuseth,and herto he fully him submitteth.]
  - 1509–1547(date written),John Strype,“[Appendix:[…].]Numb[er]XXVI. Dr. Fox to Dr. Gardiner; Giving Him a Relation of His Reception at Court, upon His Return from His Embassy.”, inEcclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It: Shewing the Various Emergencies of the Church of England, under KingHenry the Eighth.[…],volume I, London:[…]John Wyat,[…],published1721,→OCLC,page83:
    [T]he Quenys grace may alvvayesrecuſe& appell at her good pleaſure & libertie, from vvhatſoever Decree or Sentence, either interlocutorie, or definitive, ſhe vvil:[…]
  1. (reflexive,law)Of ajudge,juror,orprosecutor:todeclare(oneself)unabletoparticipatein a court case due to anactualorpotentialconflict of interestorlackofimpartiality.
    The judgerecusedherself from that case, citing a possible conflict of interest as one of the parties was a personal friend.
    - 2024May 17, John Fritze, “New York Times: Upside-down US flag flew at home of Justice Samuel Alito after 2020 election”, inCNN‎^[1]:
      The revelation is almost certain to prompt calls for [Samuel] Alito, a member of the court’s conservative wing, torecusehimself from several high-profile cases pending before the court this year involving the election and subsequent attack on the US Capitol, including the blockbuster question of whether Trump may claim immunity from federal election subversion charges.
  2. (chieflyCanada,US,law)Toobjectto (a judge, juror, or prosecutor) participating in a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
    Synonym:(Philippines)inhibit
    - 1771,[John Shebbeare],An Authentic Narrative of the Oppressions of the Islanders of Jersey.[…],volume II, London:[…]S. Hooper,[…],→OCLC,pages238–239:
      The ſaid [Nicholas] Fiott, likevviſe,recuſethJames Pipon, eſq; [as being a judge in the cause] ſeeing, that he knovvs that the ſaid Fiott is the perſon vvho is the cauſe that the ſaid Pipon hath been ſued by rigour of lavv, before the council, in order to oblige him to do juſtice to the poor concerning the hoſpital.
2. (obsolete)
  1. Torefuse(todosomething).
  2. (rare)Todismiss(anappeal).
    - 1529July 3 (Gregorian calendar),Henry VIII,“[A Collection of Records and Original Papers; with Other Instruments Referred to in the Former History.]XXVIII. The King's Letter to His Ambassadours, about His Appearance before the Legates. An Original. June 23. 1529[Julian calendar].”,inGilbert Burnet,The History of the Reformation of the Church of England. The First Part,[…],London:[…]T[homas]H[odgkin]for Richard Chiswell,[…],published1679,→OCLC,page78:
      [N]otvvithſtanding that the ſaid Judges amply and ſufficiently declared, as vvell the ſincerity of their minds directly, juſtly to proceed vvithout favour, dread, affection, or partiality;[…]yet ſhe nevertheleſs perſiſting in her former vvilfulneſs, and in her Appeal, vvhich alſo by the ſaid Judges vvas likevviſerecuſed:[…]
(intransitive,law)Of a judge, juror, or prosecutor: to declare oneselfdisqualifiedfrom trying a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality.
The district attorneyrecusedfrom the case because he used to work for the company which was the defendant.

Conjugation

Conjugation ofrecuse

infinitive	(to)recuse
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	recuse	recused
2nd-person singular	recuse,recusest^†	recused,recusedst^†
3rd-person singular	recuses,recuseth^†	recused
plural	recuse	recused

subjunctive	recuse	recused

imperative	recuse	—

participles	recusing	recused

^†Archaicorobsolete.

Derived terms

Related terms

accuse
cause
excuse
recusance
recusancy(partly)
recusant
recusation
recusative(obsolete,rare)
recusator(obsolete)
recusatory(obsolete,rare)

Translations

to reject or repudiate (an authority, a person, a court judgment, etc.)

Catalan:recusar(ca)
Dutch:wraken(nl)
Finnish:jäävätä(fi)
French:récuser(fr)
German:wegen Befangenheit ablehnen
Greek:εξαιρώ(el)(exairó)
Macedonian:се по́влече(se póvleče)
Russian:отводи́ть(ru)(otvodítʹ)
Spanish:recusar(es)

(transitive, reflexive) of a judge, juror, or prosecutor: to declare (oneself) unable to participate in a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartality

Dutch:recuseren
Finnish:jäävätä itsensä,jääviytyä
French:récuser(fr)
German:sich für befangen erklären
Greek:αυτοεξαιρούμαι(aftoexairoúmai)
Persian:رفع صلاحیت کردن(raf'-e salâhiyat kardan)
Russian:отводиться(ru)(otvoditʹsja),отка́зываться(ru)(otkázyvatʹsja)от(ru)(ot)участия(ru)(učastija)
Swedish:jäva ut sig

to object to (a judge, juror, or prosecutor) participating in a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality

Finnish:vastustaa jääviyden nojalla
Macedonian:please add this translation if you can

(intransitive) of a judge, juror, or prosecutor: to declare oneself disqualified from trying a court case due to an actual or potential conflict of interest or lack of impartiality

Finnish:jääviytyä
Macedonian:please add this translation if you can

References

^“recūsen,v.”,inMED Online,Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.
^“recuse,v.”,inOED Online⁠,Oxford:Oxford University Press,March 2022;“recuse,v.”,inLexico,Dictionary;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.

Anagrams

Creuse,Rescue,cereus,ceruse,cursee,rescue,secuer,secure

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Hyphenation:re‧cu‧se

Verb

recuse

inflection ofrecusar:
1. first/third-personsingular present subjunctive
2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key):/reˈkuse/[reˈku.se]
Rhymes:-use
Syllabification:re‧cu‧se

Verb

recuse

inflection ofrecusar:
1. first/third-personsingular present subjunctive
2. third-person singular imperative

[1] “recūsen,v.”,inMED Online,Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.

[2] “recuse,v.”,inOED Online⁠,Oxford:Oxford University Press,March 2022;“recuse,v.”,inLexico,Dictionary;Oxford University Press,2019–2022.

[1]

[2]

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Verb

Conjugation

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

Further reading

Anagrams

Portuguese

Pronunciation

Verb

Spanish

Pronunciation

Verb