IATE Term of the Week: Recovery plan Recovery plan (also called roadmap for recovery) is one of the terms acquiring increasing popularity during this new global situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. It can be easily considered as a representation of the feelings of hope and optimism accompanying the measures taken after the abolition of the lockdown which was imposed within the frame of protecting ourselves against the virus spread. The gradual returning to normality is taking place but it cannot certainly take place without a plan which is labelled as the Recovery plan. Up to this present moment, Recovery Plan has been used either to refer to the document used in the United States to describe protocols for protecting and enhancing rare and endangered species population or to the plan and measures applied after a disaster so as to make sure that the situation is dealt with successfully in terms of letting behind the disastrous and negative effects of the disaster. The etymology of the word “recovery” itself makes it profoundly understandable why it has been so closely associated to every action and event related to the principal meaning of “return to health”. It is a French originated word coming from the past participle “recovree” of the French verb “recovrer” which first appeared in the 15 century initially meaning “a gaining possession by legal action”. The legal nature of the possession remains since the term nowadays is Recovery Plan and the plan is not individual but common for all, designed by specialists and including rules which ought to be respected and followed by all. The initial concept though has been enriched since it is not any kind of possession you are gaining but your health. Life is an ongoing change of easy and difficult times and although ancient civilizations always focused on the unpredictability of human life, we can certainly benefit a lot with the help of a plan. Any plan may not go as initially planned, but the whole procedure of planning it and trying to apply it contributes to people feeling a higher sense of confidence. The Recovery plan is what will help to adjust to the new demands of living together and facing the danger of COVID-19 in a collective, non-fearful way.   Sources Online Cambridge Dictionary. 2020. Meaning of Recovery in English by Online Cambridge Dictionary [ONLINE] Available at: https://dictionary. cambridge.org/dictionary/english/recovery. [Accessed 27 May 2020]. Online Dictionary. 2020. Meaning of Recovery in English by Online Dictionary [ONLINE] Available at:  https://www.yourdictionary.com/recovery. [Accessed 27 May 2020]. Online Etymology Dictionary. 2020. Recover, Origin and meaning of the word Recover by Online Etymology Dictionary. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.etymonline.com/word/recovery. [Accessed 27 May 2020]. Written by Maria Papamargariti, Greek and English Philologist, writer in the field of children’s literature.