reciter 
reciter (re-si'ter), n. [< OF. reeiteur, recita- 
teur, F. recitateur = It. recitatore, < L. recita- 
tor, a reciter, < recitare, recite : see recite.] 
One who recites or rehearses: a narrator or 
declaimer, especially of what has been previ- 
ously written or told. 
Narrative songs were committed to memory, and de- 
livered down from one reciter to another. 
Up. Percy, On Anc. Metrical Romances, 1. (Latham.) 
reciting-note (re-si'ting-not), . In chanting, 
a note or tone on which several or many sylla- 
bles are recited in monotone. In Gregorian music 
this tone is regularly the dominant of the mode, but in 
Anglican chants it may be any tone. Usually every chant 
contains two, or a double chant four, reciting-notes. 
reck (rek), v.; pret. and pp. recked (formerly 
r aught). [Formerly also reak, sometimes mis- 
spelled wreak; < ME. recken, rekken, assibilated 
recchen, later forms, with shortened vowel, of 
reken, assibilated rechen (pret. roughte, rouMe, 
rogte, roghte, rohte), < AS. recan, reccan (pret. 
rohte), care, reck, = OS. rokian = MLG. roken, 
ruken, LG. roken, ruken, rochen = OHG. ruoMt- 
jan, ruochan, ruochen, MHG. ruochen (also, in 
comp., OHG. gemochan, MHG. gervochen, G. 
geruhen) = Icel. reekja, reck, regard, etc. (cf. 
Dan. rot/te, care, tend, etc.); cf. AS. *roc (not 
recorded) = OHG. ruoh, ruah, MHG. ruocti, care, 
heed ; perhaps akin to Gr. dAeye<v (for *apyeiv), 
have care, heed, reck.] I. intrans. 1. To take 
heed ; have a care ; mind ; heed ; care : usually 
in a negative clause, often followed by of. 
And whether thei had good ansuere or euell, the! raught 
neuer. Book of the Knight of La Tour Landry, p. 2. 
Sith that he myghte do her no companye, 
He ne roghte not a myte for to dye. 
Chaucer, Complaint of Mars, 1. 126. 
He recketh not, be so he wynne, 
Of that another man shall lese. 
Gower, Conf. Amant., ii. 
I reck not though I end my life to-day. 
Shak., T. andC., v. 6. 26. 
Of God, or hell, or worse, 
He reek'd not. Hilton, P. L., ii. 60. 
Light recking of his cause, but battling for their own. 
Scott, Vision of Don Roderick, The Vision, st. 45. 
2f. To think. 
Forthe ther ys oon, y reke, 
That can well Frensche speke. 
MS. Cantab. Ft. ii. 38, f. 115. (HaUiweU.) 
II. trans. To take heed of ; care for ; regard ; 
consider; be concerned about. [Obsolete or 
poetical.] 
This son of mine, not recking danger, . . . came hither 
to do this kind office, to my unspeakable grief. 
Sir P. Sidney. 
An' may you better reck the rede 
Than ever did th' adviser ! 
Burns, Epistle to a Young Friend. 
It recks (impersonal), it concerns. 
Of night, or loneliness, it recks me not 
Milton, Comus, 1. 404. 
reckent, v. An obsolete (the more correct) form 
of reckon. 
reckless (rek'les), a. [Formerly also assibilated 
reckless, retchless, and misspelled wreckless, 
wretchless; < ME. rekles, reckeles, rekkeles, as- 
sibilated recheles, reccheles, rechlesse, < AS. rece- 
leds, recceleds, careless, reckless, thoughtless, 
heedless, etc., = D. roekeloos, reckless, rash, 
= MLG. rokelos, rocelos = OHG. ruahchalos, 
MHG. ruochelos, G. ruchlos, careless, untrou- 
bled, wicked, notorious ; < *roc or *rece (not re- 
corded) = OHG. ruoh, MHG. ruoch, care (see 
reck, v.), + -leas = E. -less.'] If. Not recking; 
careless; heedless; inattentive: in amild sense. 
A monk, whan he is reccheles, 
Is likned to a nssch that is waterles 
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to 0. T., 1. 179. 
First when thu spekist be not rekles, 
Kepe feete and nugeris and handes still in peso. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 26. 
2. Not recking of consequences; desperately 
heedless, as from folly, passion, or perversity; 
impetuously or rashly adventurous. 
I am one, my liege, 
Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world 
Have so incensed that I am reckless what 
I do to spite the world. Shak., Macbeth, iii. 1. 110. 
Unhappily, James, instead of becoming a mediator, be- 
came the fiercest and most reckless of partisans. 
Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
=Syn. 2. Enterprising, Rash, etc. (see adventurous), in- 
cautious, unwary, unconcerned, indifferent, thoughtless. 
See list under rashi. 
recklessly (rek'les-li), adv. [< ME. reklesly, 
reklcelesly, < AS. *receledsliee, recceledslice, < 
receleds, reckless: see reckless and -fy 2 .] In a 
reckless manner ; with rash or desperate heed- 
lessuess. 
5002 
recklessness (rek'les-nes), n. [Formerly also 
assibilated rtchlessness, retchlessness ; < ME. rek- 
lesnex, rechelesnesse, recchelesnes, < AS. receledn- 
nes, < receleds, reckless: see reckless and -ness.] 
The state or quality of being reckless or heed- 
less ; perverse or desperate rashness. 
reckling (rek'ling), n. and a. [Also ruckling; 
prob. < Icel. reklingr, an outcast, < reka, drive, 
toss, drift, etc. (= wreak), + -lingr = E. -liiif/^. 
Cf . wretchcock, the smallest of a brood of fowls.] 
1. . 1 . The smallest and weakest one in a lit- 
ter, as of puppies, kittens, or pigs; the runt. 
Hence 2. A helpless babe. 
There lay the reckling, one 
But one hoar old ! What said the happy sire? 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
II, . Small; puny; stunted. 
A mother dotes upon the reckling child 
More than the strong. 
Sir H. Taylor, Ph. van Artevelde, II., v. 3. 
reckmastert (rek'mas"ter), n. [Irreg.< reck(on) 
+ master.] A professional computer and ac- 
countant. [Rare.] 
The common legist, reckmafter, or arithmetician. 
Dr. John Dee, Preface to Euclid (1570). 
reckon (rek'n), v. [Early mod. E. recken; < ME. 
reckenen, rekenen, reknen, count, account, reck- 
on, esteem, etc., < AS. *recenian, found only in 
the once-occurring comp. ge-recenian, explain, 
= OFries. rekenia, reknia = D. rekenen = MLG. 
LG. rekenen = OHG. rehhanon, MHG. rechenen, 
G. rechnen = Icel. reikna (for *rekna ?) = Sw. 
rdkna = Dan. regne, reckon, = Goth, rahnjau 
(for *raknjan^), reckon; a secondary verb, 
with formative -n (see -era 1 ), parallel with an- 
other verb (the common one in AS.), AS. 
reccan (pret. reahte, relite), narrate, tell, say, 
explain, expound, = OS. rekkian, narrate, ex- 
plain, = OHG. rachjan, recchen, narrate, ex- 
plain, reckon ; these verbs being derived from a 
noun, AS. racu, f., an account or reckoning, an 
account or narrative, an exposition, explana- 
tion, history, comedy, = OHG. rahha, f., a sub- 
ject, thing, = Icel. rok, neut. pi., a reason, 
ground, origin; prob. akin to Gr. /toyof, an ac- 
count, saying, word, reason, Uyeiv, say: see 
Logos, logic, legend, etc. The AS. verb reccan, 
narrate, is generally confused with reccan, di- 
rect, rule, also stretch: see rackl, retch 1 . The 
former spelling recken is historically the proper 
one, the termination -on, as with beckon, being 
prop, -en: see -en 1 .] I. trans. 1. To count, or 
count up; compute; calculate; tell over by 
items or one by one : often with up. 
No man vpon molde schuld now deuise 
Men richlier a-raid to rekene alle thinges. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 1934. 
I have not art to reckon my groans. 
Shak., Hamlet, ii. 2. 121. 
If we reckon up only those days which God hath accepted 
of our lives, a life of good years will hardly be a span long. 
Sir T. Browne, To a Friend. 
To reckon right it is required, (1.) That the mind dis- 
tinguish carefully two ideas which are different one from 
another only by the addition or subtraction of one unit. 
(2.) That it retain in memory the names or marks of the 
several combinations from an unit to that number. 
Locke, Human Understanding, II. xvi. 7. 
2. To take into account ; include in an account 
or category; set to one's account; impute; 
charge or credit. 
Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. 
Rom. iv. 9. 
.Also these Yles of Ynde, which beth evene azenst us, 
beth noght reckned in the Climates ; for thei ben azenst 
us that ben in the lowe Contree. 
Mandemtte, Travels, p. 186. 
Was any man's lust or intemperance ever reckoned among 
the Titles of his honour? StUlingJleet, Sermons, I. ii. 
Among the costs of production have to be reckoned taxes, 
general and local. //. Spencer, Man vs. State, p. 23. 
3f. To take account of ; inquire into; consider. 
Thane salle we rekkene fulle rathe whatt ryghte that he 
claymes. Morte Arthure (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 1275. 
4. To hold in estimation as; regard; consider 
as being. 
We ought not to recken and coumpt the thynge harde 
That bryngeth ioye and pleasure afterwarde. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. 8.), p. 339. 
For that they reckened this demeanoure attempted, not 
so specially againste the other Lordes, as agaynste the 
Einge hymselfe. Sir T. More, Works, p. 43. 
Though it be not expressly spoken against in Scripture, 
yet I reckm it plainly enough implied in the Scripture. 
Latimer, Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1550. 
This is reckoned a very polite and fashionable amuse- 
ment here. Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, Ixxxvi. 
A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature. 
Emerson, Friendship. 
= Syn. 1. To enumerate, cast, cast up.- -1 and 2. Compute, 
Count, etc. (see calculate). 
reckoning 
II. intrans. 1. To. make a computation; cast 
up an account; figure up. 
And when he had begune to recken, won was browghte 
vnto hym whiche ought hym ten thousande talenttes. 
Tyndale, Mat. xviii. 24. 
2. To make an accounting; settle accounts; 
come to an adjustment or to terms: commonly 
followed by with. 
"Parfay," seistow, " som tyme he rekne anal, . . . 
For he noght helpeth needfulle in her nede." 
Chaucer, Man of Law's Tale, 1. 12. 
The lorde of those servauntes cam, and reckened u-ith 
them. Tyndale, Mat. xxv. 19. 
Know that ye shall to-morrow be placed before God, 
and reckoned with according to your deeds. 
E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, I. 104. 
3f. To give an account of one s self; make an 
explanation. 
Pandarus, withouten rekenynge, 
Out wente anon to Eleyne and Deiphebus. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1640. 
4f. To take account of the points or details of 
a subject ; reason ; discriminate. 
Nothing at all, to rekin rycht, 
Different, in to Goddis sycht, 
Than bene the purest Creature 
That euir wes formit of nature. 
Lauder, Dewtie of Kyngis (E. E. T. S.), 1. 63. 
5. To base a calculation or expectation ; rely; 
count ; depend : with on or upon. 
My Lord Ambassador Aston reckons upon you, that you 
will be one of his Train at his first Audience in Madrid. 
Uowett, Letters, I. vi. 28. 
Thus they [men] adore the goodly scheme by which 
they brought all these things to pass, and reckon upon it 
as sure and infallible for the future. 
Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, I. vii. 
In the whole corporation [of Newcastle-on-Tyne], the 
government could not reckon on more than four votes. 
Mm n uln ii, Hist. Eng., viii. 
6. To hold a supposition or impression ; have 
a notion; think; suppose; guess: as, I reckon 
a storm is coming. [The use of reckon in this sense, 
though regularly developed and found in good literature, 
like the corresponding sense of the transitive verb (defini- 
tion 4), has by reason of its frequency in colloquial speech 
in some parts of the United States, especially in the South 
(where it occupies a place like that of guess in New Eng- 
land), come to be regarded as provincial or vulgar.] 
I reckoned [thought, R. V., margin] till morning that as a 
lion so will he break all my bones. Isa. xxxviii. 13. 
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are 
not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be 
revealed in us. Rom. viii. 18. 
What, you are a courtier, I reckon? No wonder you 
wish the press was demolished. Foote, The Bankrupt, iii. 
There is one thing I must needs add, though I reckon 
it will appear to many as a very unreasonable paradox. 
Swift, Nobles and Commons, v. 
I reckon you will be selling out the whole it's needless 
making twa bites of a cherry. Scott, St Ronan's Well, x. 
I reckon they will always be "the girls" to us, even if 
they're eighty. Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 444. 
7. To expect; intend. [Obsolete or colloq.] 
Another sweet invention, 
The which in brief I reckon to name. 
Undaunted Londonderry (Child's Ballads, VII. 249). 
To reckon for, to give an account for; be answerable 
for. 
If they fail in their bounden duty, they shall reckon for 
it one day. Bp. Sanderson. 
To reckon without one's host. See /.-'-. 
reckoner (vek'n-er), n. [< ME. rekenere, rek- 
nare (= D. rekenaar = G. rechner = Sw. be- 
raknare = Dan. oc-regner) ; < reckon + -cc 1 .] 
1. One who reckons or computes: as, a rapid 
reckoner. 
But retrospects with bad reckoners are troublesome 
things. Warburton, On Occasional Reflections. 
In Ireland, where the reckoner would begin by saying 
"The two thumbs is one." Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 489. 
2. Something that assists a person to reckon 
or cast up accounts, as a book containing a se- 
ries of tables ; a ready-reckoner. 
reckoning (rek'n-ing), n. [Early mod. E. also 
reckning; < ME. rekeninge ; rekninge, rekning, 
recning (= D. rekening, a bill, account, reckon- 
ing, = MLG. rekeninge = OHG. rechenunga, 
MHG. rechenunge, G. rechnuiig = Sw. rakmng 
= Dan. regning, a reckoning, a computation) ; 
verbal n. of reckon, v.~\ 1. The act of count- 
ing or computing; hence, an account or cal- 
culation ; an adjustment of accounts. 
For it pleaseth a Mayster much to haue a true reckon- 
ing. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 66. 
I am ill at reckoning. Shak., L. L. L., i. 2. 42. 
The way to make reckonings even is to make them often. 
South. 
2. A bill of charges, especially in a hotel, tav- 
ern, inn, or other place of entertainment; an 
itemized statement of what is due ; a score. 
