I. rə̇ˈkər]zhən, rēˈ-, -kə̄], -kəi], chiefly Brit ]shən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Late Latin recursion-, recursio, from recursus (past participle of recurrere to run back, return) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at recur
: return
II. noun
1. : the determination of a succession of elements (as numbers or functions) by operation on one or more preceding elements according to a recursive definition — compare fibonacci number herein
2. : the solution of a problem by means of a procedure that uses a copy of itself as one of its steps so that the problem is simplified with each execution of the procedure until a simplest case is reached for which the solution has been defined and the basic solution is applied to complete the solutions of the more complex versions — compare iteration 2 herein