recourir

Recourir is a French verb meaning to resort to or to turn to someone or something for help or a solution. It is most commonly used with the preposition à, as in recourir à quelque chose or recourir à quelqu’un. The expression often implies using a resource as a last resort or as a necessary measure. In many contexts it can be translated as “to have recourse to” or “to call upon.”

Etymology and sense: Recourir derives from the prefix re- combined with courir (to run), conveying the idea of returning to or drawing on a resource. The word has been part of French since medieval times and remains widely used in formal, legal, administrative, and journalistic language.

Conjugation and forms: Recourir is an irregular -ir verb linked to courir. In the present tense the forms are je recours, tu recours, il recourt, nous recourons, vous recourez, ils recourent. The past participle is recouru, and the verb uses the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (j’ai recouru). Other tenses follow the standard patterns of related verbs: imperfect recourais, recourais, recourait, recourions, recouriez, recouraient; future recourrai, recourras, recourra, recourrons, recourrez, recourront; subjunctive present que je recoure, que tu recoures, qu’il recoure, que nous recourions, que vous recouriez, qu’ils recourent.

Usage: Recourir is primarily formal or literary, often preferred in written French to indicate calling upon a method, rule, or authority. It is commonly paired with à: recourir à des mesures, à une aide juridique, à un expert, or à une clause particulière. Synonyms include faire appel à and avoir recours à; recourir to a rival meaning in some contexts may carry a stronger sense of necessity or contingency.

See also: recourir à, faire appel à, avoir recours à.