What is "recurrence relation"

n. (context mathematics English) an equation that recursively defines a sequence; each term of the sequence is defined as a function of the preceding terms.

In mathematics, a recurrence relation is an equation that recursively defines a sequence or multidimensional array of values, once one or more initial terms are given: each further term of the sequence or array is defined as a function of the preceding terms.

The term difference equation sometimes (and for the purposes of this article) refers to a specific type of recurrence relation. However, "difference equation" is frequently used to refer to any recurrence relation.