recourse means the act of seeking assistance or advice. It carries an Arena rating of 1355, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, recourse ranks #2,340 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,678 of 14,410 for Most Ponderous Words, #2,737 of 14,445 for Most Beautiful Words, #7,100 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say.
recourse is pronounced /ɹɪˈkɔːs/.
Why “recourse” is a great word
A source of help or a course of action one turns to in a difficult situation. From Middle English recours, from Old French recours, from Latin recursus ("a running back, return"), past participle of recurrō ("to run back"). Unlike a "resource" (which is the stock or supply itself) or a "resort" (which implies a final, often desperate option), recourse is the act itself—the turning, the backward glance toward aid. It is the spare key hidden beneath the stone, the friend’s number memorized for emergencies, the unread clause in the contract’s fine print—the quiet, logistical faith we place in our own foresight, a backward motion toward something once known, because silence has become unbearable.
Etymology
From Middle English recours (noun) and recoursen (verb), from Old French recours, from Latin recursus, past participle of recurrō.
noun
- The act of seeking assistance or advice.e.g.“Thus dyed this great Peer in the thirty sixth year of his age compleat, and three days over, in a time of great recourse unto him, and dependence upon him”
- The use of (someone or something) as a source of help in a difficult situation.
- A coursing back, or coursing again; renewed course; return; retreat; recurrence.
- Access; admittance.
verb
- To return; to recur.e.g.“[…] the flame departing and recoursing thrice ere the wood took strength to be sharper to consume […]”
- To have recourse; to resort.
- To recurse (execute a procedure recursively).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.