recordare

Recordare is a Latin verb meaning to remember or recall. In standard Latin grammar, the present active infinitive is recordare, formed from the first-conjugation verb recordo, recordare, recordavi, recordatus. The verb is commonly cited with its principal parts to indicate its conjugation. There is also a deponent form recordari (recordor, recordari, recordatus sum) that uses passive morphology but retains an active meaning, often found in classical prose and poetry. The imperative singular form recordare appears in some texts as an exhortation meaning “remember” or “keep in mind.”

In usage, recordare appears in both religious and secular contexts, conveying memory, recollection, or mindful consideration. It can express a reminder to remember a person, a duty, an event, or a moral virtue. As an exhortation, the imperative "recordare" functions similarly to telling someone to call something to mind.

Recordare has a significant presence in later Latin and liturgical contexts as well. It is frequently encountered in medieval and early modern Latin writings, and it occurs as a canonical or formulaic prompt in prayers and devotional texts that address memory or remembrance of the divine, the dead, or moral duties.

In modern culture, the term is best known to many from music: "Recordare" is the opening word of the second movement of Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626, a movement titled Recordare, Jesu, pie. The text pleads for Jesus to remember the petitioner, reflecting the Latin liturgical tradition from which the work draws.