REFLEXES

Noun

reflexes

plural of reflex

Source: Wiktionary


REFLEX

Re"flex (r"flks), a. Etym: [L. reflexus, p. p. of reflectere: cf. F. réflexe. See Reflect.]

1. Directed back; attended by reflection; retroactive; introspective. The reflex act of the soul, or the turning of the intellectual eye inward upon its own actions. Sir M. Hale.

2. Produced in reaction, in resistance, or in return.

3. (Physiol.)

Definition: Of, pertaining to, or produced by, stimulus or excitation without the necessary intervention of consciousness. Reflex action (Physiol.), any action performed involuntarily in consequence of an impulse or impression transmitted along afferent nerves to a nerve center, from which it is reflected to an efferent nerve, and so calls into action certain muscles, organs, or cells.

– Reflex nerve (Physiol.), an excito-motory nerve. See Exito- motory.

Re"flex (r"flks; formerly r*flks"), n. Etym: [L. reflexus a bending back. See Reflect.]

1. Reflection; the light reflected from an illuminated surface to one in shade. Yon gray is not the morning's eye, 'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow. Shak. On the depths of death there swims The reflex of a human face. Tennyson.

2. (Physiol.)

Definition: An involuntary movement produced by reflex action. Patellar reflex. See Knee jerk, under Knee.

Re*flex" (r*flks"), v. t. Etym: [L. reflexus, p. p. of reflectere. See Reflect.]

1. To reflect. [Obs.] Shak.

2. To bend back; to turn back. J. Gregory.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

27 December 2024

OBLIGATE

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Coffee Trivia

In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.

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