'Recess' means 'going back' three ways — an architectural niche, a break from work, and a hidden place.
A temporary break from activity, especially in a legislative body or school; a small space set back in a wall; a remote or hidden place.
From Latin 'recessus' (a going back, a retreat, a withdrawal, a remote or hidden place), the noun formed from the past participle stem of 'recedere' (to go back, to withdraw, to retreat), a compound of 're-' (back, again) + 'cedere' (to go, to move, to yield, to give way). The Latin 'cedere' descends from PIE *ked- (to go, to yield), which produced the extensive Latin family behind English 'cede' (to yield territory), 'accede' (to go toward — to agree), 'concede' (to yield), 'precede' (to go before), 'proceed' (to go forward), 'recede' (to go back, withdraw), 'secede' (to go apart — as a state from a union), 'intercede' (to go between as mediator), and 'exceed' (to go beyond set limits). The spatial and temporal
American schoolchildren's beloved 'recess' — the break for outdoor play — is etymologically a 'retreat from' lessons. The U.S. Congress also takes a 'recess,' as do courts. All three uses preserve the Latin sense of withdrawal, but for schoolchildren, the word has become so strongly associated with play that its meaning has effectively reversed