recursion

Defining a program in such a way that it may call itself, so that use of the program may occur again and again during its execution. (Arbib) recursion of: pertaining to, or designating: a) a mathematical expression, such as a polynomial, each term of which is determined by application of a formula to preceding terms. b) a formula that generates the successive terms of such an expression. From the Latin "a return."

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(or Recursiveness). The attribute of a program or rule which can be applied on its results indefinitely often. E.g., in linguistics the rule which introduces an adjective before a noun. Unlike in iteration, recursion need not converge towards a state. It rather tends to make a structure grow. (Krippendorff )