RECOILED

Verb

recoiled

past participle of recoil

Source: Wiktionary


RECOIL

Re*coil", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Recoiled; p. pr. & vb. n. Recoiling.] Etym: [OE. recoilen, F. reculer, fr. L. pref. re- re- + culus the fundament. The English word was perhaps influenced in form by accoil.]

1. To start, roll, bound, spring, or fall back; to take a reverse motion; to be driven or forced backward; to return. Evil on itself shall back recoil. Milton. The solemnity of her demeanor made it impossible . . . that we should recoil into our ordinary spirits. De Quincey.

2. To draw back, as from anything repugnant, distressing, alarming, or the like; to shrink. Shak.

3. To turn or go back; to withdraw one's self; to retire. [Obs.] "To your bowers recoil." Spenser.

Re*coil", v. t.

Definition: To draw or go back. [Obs.] Spenser.

Re*coil", n.

1. A starting or falling back; a rebound; a shrinking; as, the recoil of nature, or of the blood.

2. The state or condition of having recoiled. The recoil from formalism is skepticism. F. W. Robertson.

3. Specifically, the reaction or rebounding of a firearm when discharged. Recoil dynamometer (Gunnery), an instrument for measuring the force of the recoil of a firearm.

– Recoil escapement See the Note under Escapement.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 December 2024

ACERVULUS

(noun) small asexual fruiting body resembling a cushion or blister consisting of a mat of hyphae that is produced on a host by some fungi


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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