Récurent

Récurent is a French adjective that translates to "recurrent" or "recurring" in English. It is used to describe something that happens or appears repeatedly. This can apply to a wide range of situations, from events and phenomena to symptoms and patterns.

In medicine, a récurent symptom is one that returns after a period of improvement or remission. For example, a récurent infection might clear up but then reappear later. Similarly, récurent pain indicates a pain that is not constant but comes back at intervals.

The term récurent can also be used in mathematics and computer science. A récurent relation, for instance, is a way of defining a sequence where each term is defined as a function of preceding terms. This concept is fundamental to understanding algorithms and data structures.

In a more general sense, récurent describes anything that is not a one-off occurrence but rather a pattern of repetition. This could be a récurent dream, a récurent topic of conversation, or a récurent problem in a project. The core idea is that the phenomenon is not isolated but part of a cycle or a series of similar occurrences. The opposite of récurent would be something that is singular, isolated, or a unique event.