retroflexion
(riːtrəʊ-, rɛtrəʊˈflɛkʃən)
[ad. mod.L. retroflexio. So F. rétroflexion, Sp. retroflexion.]
1. The fact or state of being turned back or retorted. Chiefly Path., retroversion.
| 1845 Encycl. Metrop. VI. 541/1 The stratified limestones of these localities are bent into such extraordinary retroflexions, as to imply repeated operations of the most violent Mechanical agency. 1860 Tanner Pregnancy iii. 136 The patient was suffering from retroversion or retroflexion of the uterus. 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 458 Having suffered from symptoms of retroflexion for about a year. |
2. Phonetics. Articulation of a sound with the tongue curled back.
| 1932 D. Jones Outl. Eng. Phonetics (ed. 3) ii. 11 In many parts..the effect of the r appears as a modification known as ‘retroflexion’ or ‘inversion’ of the preceding vowel. 1954 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. XVI. 558 It is well known as a feature of Sanskrit ‘internal sandhi’ that the coarticulation of retroflexion with constriction has more extensive syntagmatic implications than its coarticulation with occlusion. 1964 R. H. Robins Gen. Linguistics iii. 98 All vowel sounds may be characterized by retroflexion... This retroflexion is one of the characteristics of what is loosely called in Britain ‘an American accent’. 1973 Amer. Speech 1969 XLIV. 263 A careful study of this feature was therefore planned and conducted to determine the degree of retroflexion of /r/. |