recapitulation meaning and definition

RECAPITULATION noun

Definition of recapitulation (noun)

1. emergence during embryonic development of various characters or structures that appeared during the evolutionary history of the strain or species
   • synonyms: palingenesis
   • antonym: caenogenesis
2. (music) the section of a composition or movement (especially in sonata form) in which musical themes that were introduced earlier are repeated
3. a summary at the end that repeats the substance of a longer discussion
   • synonyms: recap, review
4. (music) the repetition of themes introduced earlier (especially when one is composing the final part of a movement)