Recueillis

Recueillis is a French verb form that appears in historical and literary contexts. It is the first-person singular passé simple (past historic) form of the verb recueillir, which means to gather, collect, or receive. In contemporary French, this tense is rarely used outside literature, with the passé composé (j’ai recueilli) serving as the standard past tense in everyday writing and speech.

The passé simple forms of recueillir include: je recueillis, tu recueillis, il recueillit, nous recueillîmes, vous recueillîtes, ils recueillirent. The form recueillis can therefore appear as the first-person singular form with the subject je, or as the second-person singular form with the subject tu in older literary texts, and readers should not confuse it with the past participle recueilli, which is used in compound tenses such as j’ai recueilli.

Etymology-wise, recueillir derives from the prefix re- plus cueillir, the latter meaning to pick or harvest. The verb trace its origins to Old French and ultimately to Latin roots associated with gathering or collecting (cf. collĭgere via the old form cueillir in French development). The past participle is recueilli, which is distinct from the passé simple form recueillis.

Usage notes: Recueillis is primarily of interest to students of French conjugation and historical texts. In modern prose or dialogue, speakers would typically replace it with a compound tense: j’ai recueilli, tu as recueilli, il a recueilli, etc. Recueillis should not be confused with the feminine past participle recueillie or other related forms such as recueil(l)ir in different tenses.