▪ I. retrocession1
(riːtrəʊ-, rɛtrəʊˈsɛʃən)
[ad. late L. retrōcessio, noun of action f. retrōcēdĕre retrocede v.1 So F. (med.) rétrocession, Sp. retrocesion, It. -cessione.]
1. The action or fact of moving backward, retiring, or receding; retrogression.
| a 1646 J. Gregory Posthuma (1650) 37 If it be said that the Retrocession of the Sun and shadow in the Diall of Ahaz was as great a wonder as anie. 1659 H. More Immort. Soul iii. iii. 66 This argument is drawn from the stars retrocession. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies ii. i. 124 What is the return of the Luminaries from the Tropiques, but a kind of Retrocession. 1779 Johnson L.P., Milton (1868) 57 These transient and involuntary excursions and retrocessions of invention. 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages (1872) II. 233 The retrocession of the Roman terminus under Adrian. 1863 Tyndall Heat i. 25 This retrocession of the index is due..to the lowering of the temperature within the bulb. 1882 Contemp. Rev. Aug. 309 An appeal to the present rate of the retrocession of waterfalls. |
b. Eccl. The return of the priest or clergy to the vestry after divine service.
| 1877 J. D. Chambers Div. Worship 206 Psalms were sung in the Retrocession. Ibid. 419 Retrocession of Celebrant. |
† 2. Astr. = recession 1. Obs.
| 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. s.v. Precession, This motion backwards is by some called the Recession of the Equinox, by others the Retrocession. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Precession, Which retrograde motion is called the precession, recession, or retrocession of the equinoxes. |
3. Path. The action or fact, on the part of a disease, of striking inward, so as to affect the internal organs; the ‘going in’ of an eruption.
| 1771 T. Percival Ess. (1777) I. 147 The retrocession of the morbid acrimony in the measles, is prevented by nothing more powerfully than by the cortex. 1799 Underwood Diseases Children (ed. 4) I. 99 The reader is reminded of this, from the great importance of attending to such retrocession. 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 481 Retrocession of gout. 1876 Duhring Dis. Skin 236 No fears need be entertained concerning danger from retrocession. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 470 The sudden retrocession of an extensive eruption of phlegmonous scrofulides. |
4. Med. Replacement (of an intestine). rare—1.
| 1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 311 A much larger portion of the gut will be exposed, and its retrocession will be more difficult. |
▪ II. retrocession2
(riːtrəʊ-, rɛtrəʊˈsɛʃən)
[See retrocede v.2 and cession. So F. rétrocession, whence prob. sense 2.]
1. Sc. Law. (See quots.)
| 1681 Stair Instit. ii. xxiii. 4 Retrocessions, which are returning back of the Right assigned from the assigney to the Cedent, which are also called Repositions. a 1768 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. iii. v. §1 If the assignee makes over his right to a third person, the deed is called a translation; and if that third person conveys it back to the cedent, it is called a retrocession. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. |
2. The action or fact of ceding territory back to a country or government.
| 1796 Earl Malmesbury Diaries & Corr. III. 310 We want much to know what retrocessions you intend for us and our allies. 1826 Mackintosh Case Donna Maria Wks. 1846 II. 415 The Portuguese plenipotentiaries..required the retrocession of Olivenza, which had been wrested from them at Badajos. 1884 Pall Mall G. 11 Jan. 1/1 The retrocession of Basutoland to the Imperial Government. |