receive

Etymology

From Middle English receiven, from Old French receivre, from Latin recipere (“take back, accept, etc.”), from re- (“back”) + capiō (“to take”); see capacious. Compare conceive, deceive, perceive. Displaced native Middle English terms in -fon/-fangen (e.g. afon, anfon, afangen, underfangen, etc. "to receive" from Old English -fōn), native Middle English thiggen (“to receive”) (from Old English þiċġan), and non-native Middle English aquilen, enquilen (“to receive”) (from Old French aquillir, encueillir).

verb

1. To take, as something that is offered, given, committed, sent, paid, etc.; to accept; to be given something.
   She received many presents for her birthday.
   The idea of solidity we receive by our touch. 1689, John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
   And afterwards Thou [God] receivedst Seth and Enoch, and Enoch Thou translatedst; for Thou art the Creator of men, the Fountain of Life, the Supplier of Want, the Giver of Laws, the Rewarder of them that keep them, the Avenger of them that transgress them. 1873, Thomas Wimberley Mossman, quoting Pope Clement I (in translation), “The Genuine and Supposititious Writings of St. Clement”, in A History of the Catholic Church of Jesus Christ: From the Death of Saint John to the Middle of the Second Century:[…], London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 58
   In America alone, people spent $170 billion on "direct marketing"—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result. 25 May 2013, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2013-05-24, page 74
2. (law) To take goods knowing them to be stolen.
3. To act as a host for guests; to give admittance to; to permit to enter, as into one's house, presence, company, etc.
   to receive a lodger, visitor, ambassador, messenger, etc.
4. To incur (an injury).
   I received a bloody nose from the collision.
   But because this is oftentimes dangerous, and much hurt hath been received thereby through casualty of fire, I advise the sticking four stakes into the earth, at least five feet above the ground … 1804, Robert Wissett, On the Cultivation and Preparation of Hemp
5. To allow (a custom, tradition, etc.); to give credence or acceptance to.
6. (telecommunications) To detect a signal from a transmitter.
7. (sports) To be in a position to take possession, or hit back the ball.
   1. (tennis, badminton, squash) To be in a position to hit back a service.
   2. (American football) To be in a position to catch a forward pass.
8. (transitive, intransitive) To accept into the mind; to understand.

noun

1. (telecommunications) An operation in which data is received.
   In the sonification of the PDE code, notes are scattered throughout a wide pitch range, and sends and receives are relatively balanced; although in the beginning of the application there are bursts of sends […] 1992, Tara M. Madhyastha, A Portable System for Data Sonification, page 71