recitavi

Recitavi is the first-person singular perfect active indicative form of the Latin verb recito, meaning I recited or I narrated. The perfect tense indicates a completed action in the past, and recitavi is used when the speaker states that they recited something, such as lines of poetry, a passage, or a speech.

Recito belongs to the first conjugation; its principal parts are recito, recitare, recitavi, recitatum. The form recitavi is formed from the stem recit- plus the perfect active ending -avi. Other persons in the same tense are recitavisti (you recited) and recitavit (he/she/it recited). The related noun recitatio denotes a recitation, and the musical term recitativus (recitative) derives from the same root, referencing a style of singing or speaking that advances the narrative.

Usage often appears in classical Latin prose and poetry to report that the speaker performed a recitation or narrated a text. It can describe public readings, quoted passages, or remembered lines within a larger narrative. While primarily a verb form, its appearance helps anchor reports of spoken or performed text in past time.

See also: recito, recitatio, recitatīvus (recitative). The form recitavi is a standard example of the first‑person perfect active in Latin, illustrating how completed past actions of reciting are expressed in the language.