recourse
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recourse to
The act of turning to something already existing, tried and tested, or earlier in order to solve a current problem or handle a task.
Ohne neue Ideen blieb dem Team nur der Rückgriff auf alte Konzepte.
Without new ideas, the team was left only with recourse to old concepts.
recourse
In the legal sense, the right to demand reimbursement for a payment made from a third party who is liable for the same debt, such as a guarantor.
Nachdem der Bürge die Schuld bezahlt hatte, nahm er Rückgriff auf den Hauptschuldner.
After the guarantor had paid the debt, he had recourse against the principal debtor.
The word is composed of 'rück' (from 'zurück', back) and 'Griff' (from 'greifen', to grasp/reach for). So it literally describes the act of 'zurückzugreifen' (to fall back on / to make use of) something past or already available.
Der Rückgriff auf bewährte Methoden sparte dem Unternehmen viel Zeit.
Recourse to proven methods saved the company a lot of time.
'Rückgriff' (recourse) is a word of elevated written language and is used less often in everyday conversation. It sounds formal and is often used in reports, analyses, or specialist texts.
Die Studie erfolgte unter Rückgriff auf die Daten des Vorjahres.
The study was carried out with recourse to the previous year's data.
In its general meaning, 'Rückgriff' (recourse) is almost always used with the preposition 'auf' and the accusative. You say 'Rückgriff auf etwas' (recourse to something).
Der Autor macht in seinem neuen Buch einen Rückgriff auf seine früheren Werke.
In his new book, the author makes recourse to his earlier works.
You can recognize the legal meaning from the context. If there is talk of 'Schuldner' (debtor), 'Bürge' (guarantor), 'fordern' (to demand), or 'Haftung' (liability), it is about the right to reclaim a payment from someone.
Die Bank behält sich das Recht auf Rückgriff gegen den Bürgen vor.
The bank reserves the right of recourse against the guarantor.
access / raid
„Zugriff“ refers to the possibility or right to use or obtain something. „Rückgriff“, by contrast, means using things that already exist or come from the past to help with a current task. „Zugriff“ is used for access to a resource, while „Rückgriff“ is used for the deliberate use of that resource.
Für den neuen Bericht nahm das Team Rückgriff auf die alten Berichte.
For the new report, the team drew on the old reports.
Das Team hat Zugriff auf das Archiv mit den alten Berichten.
The team has access to the archive containing the old reports.
