As a verb, to recruit is to find and bring new people into a group, job, or organization. As a noun, a recruit is a new member, especially in the military or a company.
From French *recruter*, related to *recrue* (new growth, reinforcement), from Latin *recrescere* (to grow again), from *re-* (again) + *crescere* (to grow). It originally referred to adding new soldiers to grow an army again.
Recruiting is literally about ‘regrowing’ a group—filling in gaps with fresh people. That’s why new soldiers are called ‘recruits’: they’re the new growth that keeps the army alive.
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