retorsion Now rare.
(rɪˈtɔːʃən)
[a. F. rétorsion (13–14th c.), or ad. med.L. retorsiōn-em, var. of retortiōn-em retortion. So Sp. retorsion, It. ritorsione.]
Retortion (of an argument, etc.).
| 1657 W. Morice Coena quasi κοινὴ 242 By retorsion, as in a College, all that are..of the Foundation, doe partake of the Donatives of the Founder [etc.]. a 1670 Hacket Cent. Serm. (1675) 241 God hath a retorsion in store, a fallere fallentem. 1693 Apol. Clergy Scot. 88 The reasonings of it are so clear, the historical retorsions so undeniable. |
| 1880 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 194/1 ‘Retorsion,’ or retaliating on the foreign nation or its subjects, by similar injuries to those inflicted on us. 1890 Sat. Rev. 14 June 748/1 The first requisite..of all satire, and especially of political, is that, like a good dilemma, it should be incapable of ‘retorsion’. |