TORSION

torsion, torque

(noun) a twisting force

tortuosity, tortuousness, torsion, contortion, crookedness

(noun) a tortuous and twisted shape or position; “they built a tree house in the tortuosities of its boughs”; “the acrobat performed incredible contortions”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

torsion (countable and uncountable, plural torsions)

The act of turning or twisting, or the state of being twisted; the twisting or wrenching of a body by the exertion of a lateral force tending to turn one end or part of it about a longitudinal axis, while the other is held fast or turned in the opposite direction.

(mechanics) That force with which a thread, wire, or rod of any material, returns, or tends to return, to a state of rest after it has been twisted; torsibility.

(surgery) The stopping of arterial haemorrhage in certain cases, by twisting the cut end of the artery.

Anagrams

• Sortino, isotron, nitroso

Source: Wiktionary

Tor"sion, n. Etym: [F., fr. LL. torsio, fr. L. torquere, tortum, to twist. See Torture.]

1. The act of turning or twisting, or the state of being twisted; the twisting or wrenching of a body by the exertion of a lateral force tending to turn one end or part of it about a longitudinal axis, while the other is held fast or turned in the opposite direction.

2. (Mech.)

Definition: That force with which a thread, wire, or rod of any material, returns, or tends to return, to a state of rest after it has been twisted; torsibility. Angle of torsion (of a curve) (Geom.), the indefinitely small angle between two consecutive osculating planes of a curve of double curvature.

– Moment of torsion (Mech.) the moment of a pair of equal and opposite couples which tend to twist a body.

– Torsion balance (Physics.), an instrument for estimating very minute forces, as electric or magnetic attractions and repulsions, by the torsion of a very slender wire or fiber having at its lower extremity a horizontal bar or needle, upon which the forces act.

– Torsion scale, a scale for weighing in which the fulcra of the levers or beams are strained wires or strips acting by torsion.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition