'recount' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'reconter,' where 're-' meant 'again' and 'conter' meant 'to count or tell.'

'reconter' transformed into the Middle English word 'recounten,' and eventually became the modern English word 'recount.'

Initially, it meant 'to count again,' but over time it evolved into its current meanings of 'to tell' and 'to count again in a different context.'