recitation

[res-i-tey-shuh n] /ˌrɛs ɪˈteɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
an act of reciting.
2.
a reciting or repeating of something from memory, especially formally or publicly.
3.
oral response by a pupil or pupils to a teacher on a prepared lesson.
4.
a period of classroom instruction.
5.
an elocutionary delivery of a piece of poetry or prose, without the text, before an audience.
6.
a piece so delivered or for such delivery.
Origin
1475-85; < Latin recitātiōn- (stem of recitātiō), equivalent to recitāt(us) (past participle of recitāre to recite) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
nonrecitation, noun
Examples from the web for recitation
  • He adores her, he's an audience, and quickly the movie collapses into an endless recitation.
  • To many, he will be especially remembered as a chef and an avid reader who loved poetry and had a gift for recitation.
  • Sadder still was the recitation of names of clowns who died in the past year.
  • It was the emergency room calling and the conversation was brief, a basic recitation of the facts.
  • He then leads the few people who have gathered in the recitation of the rosary.
  • Parts of the story are covered by a simple recitation of letters.
  • But the beauty of a poem, once learned, is not in the recitation of words.
  • The new arrivals usually lighted some candles and incense before kneeling for a while to listen to the recitation.
  • They move back and forth from a posture of calm, even dry recitation of facts and figures to one of heated advocacy or derision.
  • Such a recitation of consideration was a contract term rather than a mere recitation.
British Dictionary definitions for recitation

recitation

/ˌrɛsɪˈteɪʃən/
noun
1.
the act of reciting from memory, or a formal reading of verse before an audience
2.
something recited
Word Origin and History for recitation
n.

late 15c., "act of detailing," from Old French récitation (14c.) and directly from Latin recitationem (nominative recitatio) "public reading, a reading aloud," noun of action from past participle stem of recitare (see recite). Meaning "act of repeating aloud" is from 1620s; that of "repetition of a prepared lesson" is first recorded 1770, American English.