α. Middle English 1600s– recoil, 1500s requoyle, 1500s–1600s recoile, 1500s–1700s recoyle, 1600s recoyl.
β. 1500s recule.
recoiln.
/ˈriːkɔɪl/, U.S. /ˈriˌkɔɪl/ 1. The action or an act of retreating, retiring, or going back. Also figurative. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > [noun] > retiring, withdrawing, or retreating
recoilc1330
retreata1393
subtraction?a1425
back-drawing1535
retirement1536
retiring1548
retraict1550
recess1561
retire1570
retiral1611
subducing1633
retiration1637
withdrawment1640
retirance1662
retreating1664
retraction1684
retreatment1721
withdrawal1824
back-pedalling1950
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 9182 (MED) Al Leodeganes folk made recoil To Denebleise.
1536 in J. Raine Priory of Hexham (1864) I. App. p. cxxix The comissioners..all togeders reculed back to Corbrigg, after the recule of the said Lyonell and Robert.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Hist. Irelande iii. 80/2 in R. Holinshed Chron. I Hauing knowledge of Omore his recule, he pursued him.
1643 A. Tuckney Balme of Gilead 39 Especially since of late after our recoiles backwards towards Egypt, he hath been about to leade us the second time in a more direct and full way Canaan-ward.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 110 The Recoyl of my Fortune.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 214 A more retir'd recoyle and recess of their..Devotionary Calls.
1808 W. Scott Marmion (ed. 3) vi. xxv. 355 Life and death were in the shout, Recoil and rally, charge and rout.
1947 S. Bellow Victim xiv. 168 There was a recoil of the crowd—the guards must have been pushing it back.
2. The action or an act of withdrawing or recoiling, esp. in horror, disgust, or fear; a flinching or shrinking from something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > [noun] > avoiding an action or condition > shrinking or recoiling
wondingc1440
recoil1567
shrinking1580
flinching1600
shrugginga1617
reluctancea1628
blanching1642
smaying1678
shying1796
flinch1817
funking1823
blenching1868
recoiling1892
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxiv. f. 206 Ardizzino..sawe himself so farre misliked of his Ladie, as though he had neuer bene acquainted. The cause of that recoile was, for that the Countesse was not contented with one kinde of fare.
1643 J. Milton Doctr. Divorce 18 A powerfull reluctance and recoile of nature.
1816 S. T. Coleridge Christabel ii. Concl. 48 A sweet recoil of love and pity.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. viii. 269 Reverent love of beauty, and indignant recoil from ugliness.
1919 E. Wharton French Ways ii. ii. 30 An instinctive recoil from the new, the untasted, the untested.
2005 Stud. Romanticism (Nexis) 22 Dec. [It] is possible to see in the romantic tragedy's displacement of Revolutionary events a traumatic recoil away from the corporeal violence of Revolutionary action.
3.
a. The rebound or kick of a gun or firearm when discharged; the extent of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > recoil
recoil1575
kick1826
1575 G. Gascoigne Weedes in Wks. 183 A peece which shot so well,..It neyther bruzed with recule, nor wroong with ouer~weight.
1669 R. Boyle Contin. New Exper. Physico-mech. i. 19 The Recoyl [of guns] seems to depend upon the Dilatation and Impulse of the Powder.
1735 Mil. Dict. in tr. A. de Pas Mem. Marquis de Feuquieres II. at Recoile To lessen the Recoil of a Gun, the Platforms are generally made sloping towards the Embrasures of the Battery.
1782 B. Thompson in Philos. Trans. 1781 (Royal Soc.) 71 258 The recoil of great guns is much more violent after the second or third discharge than it is at first.
1832 C. Babbage Econ. Machinery & Manuf. (ed. 2) ii. 23 Amongst different kinds of shot, that which is the smallest, causes the greatest recoil against the shoulder.
1879 J. Sladen Princ. Gunnery 17 The velocity of recoil is generally taken as the velocity imparted to the gun and carriage by the discharge of the piece.
1919 Outing Mar. 329 (advt.) Hercules Smokeless Shotgun Powders... always..give even patterns, high velocity and light recoil.
1945 C. E. Balleisen Princ. Firearms App. B. 140 This support..carries a recoiling cradle which modifies the recoil of the gun.
a1985 P. White With the Jocks (2003) 8 The house from which the gun was being fired was in a state of collapse, the recoil having driven the gun-trail through the floor.
2002 Field & Stream Nov. 38/2 Felt recoil is ‘kick’, or how much those recoil energy foot-pounds hurt us when we shoot a gun.
b. Short for recoil check n. at Compounds 1a. rare.
ΚΠ
1882 Daily News 10 Feb. 6/1 A..duck gun, mounted ready for action in a punt. It is fitted with Booth's recoil.
4. The action or an act of rebounding or springing back, esp. through (or as though through) force of impact.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > rebound > [noun]
reboundinga1382
reverberationc1405
rebound1440
stot1513
repercussion1553
recoil1583
resilience1626
reflection1642
refraction1653
resilition1654
backstroke1674
retro-spring1716
ricochet1740
dap1835
bounce1884
spring-back1899
1583 H. Howard Defensatiue Ep. Ded. sig. ¶iv These sharpe inquisitors..are to be left eyther to the punishment of God, or to the recoile of their owne iniuries.
1613 W. Browne Britannia's Pastorals I. ii. 40 [The river] against a mountaine dashes, And in recoile, makes Meadowes standing plashes.
1677 M. Hale Contempl. ii. Lord's Pr. 201 The reflection of thine own Glory, a recoyl of that Beam that came from thy Sun.
1761 R. Cumberland Banishment of Cicero v. i. 80 With loud recoil the sacred doors flew back.
1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. 324 It gives a recoil to the hammer, and permits the workman to modify or shorten the stroke.
1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. iii. xii. §3 The recoil of prices after they have been raised by a spirit of speculation.
1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 17/2 The pallet B will drive the wheel back a little, and produce what is called the recoil.
1964 Sci. News Lett. 4 Apr. 216/1 A new shock absorber, built for spaceships, has solved the problem of stopping a hard impact smoothly with no recoil or ‘bounce-back’ action.
2007 Rental Equipm. Reg. (Nexis) 1 July 46 The [rock] breakers can be used with..compact excavators. The low-pressure, nitrogen-charged design cushions operators from recoil.
5. The return of an elastic material or structure to its original shape after stretching; an instance of this. Esp. in elastic recoil.
ΚΠ
1809 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 314/1 The tempered elasticity of the tort-string allows it to bend, and on the removal of the oppressing force the vigorous recoil of the wire vibrating till it reassumes a perfectly strait line, shews that a violent shock cannot warp it.
1833 Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 39 180 The blood first moves by the direct impulsion of the ventricle, and afterwards by the elastic recoil of the dilated arteries.
1855 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. ii. xvi. 271 We strain a bow and let its recoil propel the arrow.
1886 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 23 565 This part acting..like a spring, and throwing the animacule..backward through the water, the whole immediately becoming upright by the recoil of the curved extremity of the pedicel.
1943 C. O. Swanson Physical Properties Dough i. 11 There is also a certain amount of elasticity..in these gluten strands which enables them to recoil after stretching.
1978 Times 30 Nov. 5/3 Considerable energy is stored in the extended skin on the convex side of the tail, and that energy produces an elastic recoil which helps the tail to swing back just as the muscles on that side of the tail start to contract.
1986 S. M. Hinchliff Teaching Clin. Nursing (ed. 2) 133 Release and recoil of the elastic is passive, no energy being required.
2006 J. P. T. Ward et al. Respiratory Syst. at Glance (ed. 2) iii. 15/1 Functional residual capacity occurs when the outward recoil of the chest wall exactly balances the inward recoil of the lungs.
6. Physics. Movement of two atoms or subatomic particles away from one another, at speeds determined by the law of conservation of momentum, resulting from a collision between them or of the emission of a particle during radioactive decay.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [noun] > action of colliding > result of
recoil1901
1901 Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci. 1899–1900 17 24 The approach of particle to particle, the recoil, the consequent approach to other particles, are as eternal as the matter itself.
1909 Proc. Physical Soc. London 22 147 (title) The recoil of radium C from radium B.
1936 S. Glasstone Recent Adv. Gen. Chem. i. 44 The halogen atoms liberated by γ-ray recoil are often able to enter the second compound.
1964 J. B. Hasted Physics of Atomic Collisions iii. 107 Since the angle of recoil is related to the velocity, a suitable positioning of slits should serve to select atoms of a certain velocity.
2007 Appl. Radiation & Isotopes 65 37/2 A thermal release takes place by recoil and knockout of fission gas atoms by energetic fission fragments.
Compounds
C1.
a. attributive in the names of devices intended to diminish or absorb the recoil of a firearm or piece of ordnance.† recoil toggle n. Obsolete
recoil box n.
ΚΠ
1884 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. (ed. 2) 520 Mr. E. T. Booth's recoil-box, in which the swivel is checked by rubber buffers.
1911 Times 18 Jan. 14/3 The gun... is arranged on a spring recoil box, which renders unnecessary the use of recoil ropes.
recoil breeching n.
ΚΠ
1880 ‘Wildfowler’ Mod. Wildfowling viii. 63 Nor do I believe that it [sc. a heavily loaded weapon] would be perfectly safe,..even with the best of padding and recoil breeching.
1940 F. van W. Mason Stars on Sea iii. 656 The gunport lid was up and the recoil breeching was adjusted.
recoil check n.
ΚΠ
1793 J. Anderson Let. 26 Aug. in G. Washington Papers (2007) Presidential Ser. XIII. 547 The increase of the recoil, by the diminution of the weight, would render them unmanageable. My first object therefore was to make a Recoil Check.
1846 Knickerbocker Feb. 168 The grand difficulty of holding such light guns against the recoil is..met by a description..of a new recoil-check.
1926 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 22 Feb. 7/3 To control spring reaction does not call for merely a reaction or recoil check.
1999 Re: ArmaLite Green Rifles in rec.guns (Usenet newsgroup) 8 Aug. The recoil check works great, but is very loud if anyone is standing next to you.
recoil pad n.
ΚΠ
1878 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 14) 120 The stocks should be..fitted with a recoil pad—especially for boat work, since a violent recoil..might pitch the shooter overboard.
1931 G. Burrard Mod. Shotgun I. vi. 145 A recoil pad can be a great boon to those who are at all sensitive to recoil or to almost anyone who uses a gun in a hot climate where one frequently has to shoot in nothing but a thin shirt.
2006 Field July 16 The removable recoil pads in the shoulder are designed to protect even the most delicate physique from repetitive strain injury.
recoil plate n.
ΚΠ
1856 Repertory of Arts 2 xix. 243 As rack-rod g is moved back, tooth k..raises the hammer... M is a light steel springing plate secured to the recoil plate J.
1933 Army Ordnance May–June 341/1 The rotation of the roller handle is checked and the recoil plates are pushed forward, shoving the barrel to battery.
2004 Amer. Handgunner (Nexis) 1 Mar. 36 The main areas of inspection with the old Colt single actions will be the firing pin, recoil plate,..and cylinder throat lineup with the barrel.
recoil reducer n.
ΚΠ
1937 Times 19 May 20/3 A special recoil reducer on the muzzle [has]..reduced the recoil to such a degree that it can hardly be felt.
2004 Backwoods Home Mag. July–Aug. 73/1 An integral mercury recoil reducer and a cushy, shock-absorbing recoil pad.
ΚΠ
1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 531 It is immaterial to which end of the breeching the ‘recoil toggle’ is affixed.
1887 ‘20-bore’ Pract. Hints Shooting v. 68 (heading) Rifles and Canes—Punt Guns—Recoil Toggle, Punts, etc.
b. In the names of devices used to measure, simulate, or record the force or energy of recoil.
recoil gauge n.
ΚΠ
1890 Field 76 461/1 Ascertaining, by chronograph and recoil-gauge, what the forward velocity of the shot and the backward movement of the gun respectively amount to.
1896 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. (ed. 6) xii. 316 (caption) New mechanical gun-rest and recoil-gauge.
1900 G. T. Teasdale-Buckell Experts on Guns & Shooting xii. 138 We cannot follow Mr. Toms..in his remarks about the recoil gauge.
recoil machine n.
ΚΠ
1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 vii. 324 Hundreds of attempts have been made at various times..to obtain a correct recoil machine which shall efficiently measure the recoil.
2001 Sports Afield (Nexis) Sept. 68 Recoil machines that simulate the pounding of magnum rifles.
recoil recorder n.
ΚΠ
1906 H. Sharp Mod. Sporting Gunnery v. 123 The sportsman does not appear to have attached very much importance to these recoil recorders, possibly for the reason that machines devised on the above lines tell only the weight of recoil.
1929 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 29 Mar. d43 Development of an ‘impact and recoil recorder’ for testing and recording the action of airplane shock-absorbers.
C2. Physics. Designating an atom, particle, etc., that has undergone recoil (sense 6).
recoil atom n.
ΚΠ
1910 Mem. & Proc. Manch. Literary & Philos. Soc. 55 (Mem. No. 2) 1 It was thought that these effects were due to reflection or scattering from the surfaces upon which the recoil-atoms fell.
1942 E. C. Pollard & W. L. Davidson Appl. Nucl. Physics iii. 40 A cloud chamber for observation of alpha particles, protons, and heavy recoil atoms is not hard to construct.
2006 Jrnl. Nucl. Materials 353 90/2 The neutron–atom interaction processes..create various types of recoil atoms of different energies.
recoil electron n.
ΚΠ
1923 Physical Rev. 21 483 The velocity of secondary β-rays excited in light elements by γ-rays agrees with the suggestion that they are recoil electrons.
1966 S. E. Liverhant Outl. Atomic Physics iv. 111 In an experimental arrangement designed to measure the coincidences between the scattered photon and the recoil electron in Compton scattering, the detectors are to be placed symmetrically about the direction of the incident X-ray beam.
1996 Europhysics Lett. 35 61 The complete 3D-electron momentum density..of solids can be measured by the coincident detection of an inelastically scattered hard X-ray photon and its recoil electron.
recoil nucleus n.
ΚΠ
1923 Proc. Physical Soc. 36 201 In this investigation one should attempt to observe H-particles of all ranges and also eventual atomic fragments of greater mass, say, X3-nuclei, He-nuclei, or the residual ‘recoil-nuclei’.
1949 O. Oldenberg Introd. Atomic & Nucl. Physics xxi. 237 The two tracks so produced, that of the original alpha particle deflected by the collision and that of the ‘recoil nucleus’, are both well defined.
1996 Nucl. Physics A. 607 43 The reaction mechanism for stopping of recoil nuclei was found to increase the attenuation factor.
recoil particle n.
ΚΠ
1923 Jrnl. & Proc. Royal Soc. N. S. Wales 57 250 At a collision at which dissociation does not occur the recoil particle has a large chance of becoming positively charged.
2006 Nucl. Instruments & Methods Physics Res. B. 243 194/1 Many scattering interactions have an inelastic (e.g., electronic) component that can alter the final energy of the scattered or recoil particle.
recoil proton n.
ΚΠ
1934 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 20 474 One recoil proton at the back surface is detectable in our experiments.
2006 Physica B. 385–6 1220/2 The emitted electron and the recoil proton have broad energy spectra.
recoil ray n.
ΚΠ
1913 E. Rutherford Radioactive Substances iv. 178 By observing the deflections of a pencil of recoil rays, both in a magnetic and electric field, the velocity and value of e/m of the recoil atoms can be deduced.
1967 Internat. Jrnl. Appl. Radiation & Isotopes 18 707/1 The G values obtained by the fast neutrons and by the recoil rays from the..reaction are 5 for both types of complex ions.
C3.
recoil action n. a movement or action that results from or constitutes a recoil.
ΚΠ
1848 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. Jan. 23 It [sc. a buffer for arresting a train] must not have any recoil action.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 13 Feb. 4/2 The recoil action of the spring..closes these valves.
2006 R. Arking Biol. of Aging (ed. 3) v. 156 During its relaxation phase..the heart actively expands, in part because of a mechanical recoil action... This recoil action creates suction.
recoil energy n. (a) the energy resulting from the recoil of a discharged firearm; (b) Physics the energy of a recoiling atom or particle.
ΚΠ
1885 Daily Democratic Times (Lima, Ohio) 30 July 2/2 The recoil energy, instead of being wasted in kicking the gun over, is used to eject the empty cartridge.
1949 G. Friedlander & J. W. Kennedy Introd. Radiochem. xi. 253 Neutron capture is always followed by γ-ray emission, and the nucleus receives some recoil energy in this process.
1983 Guns & Ammo (Nexis) Feb. 42 Calculating the recoil for these two cartridges,..we find that the .41 Magnum delivers 12 foot pounds of free recoil energy.
2003 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 361 2585 WIMPs [= weakly interacting massive particles] are detected via the recoil energy they impart on a nucleus in a target material via elastic scattering.
recoil escapement n. [after French échappement à recul (1752)] a form of escapement in clocks and watches in which the teeth of the crown wheel or balance wheel act on the pallets by recoil.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
1800 M. Young Anal. Princip. Nat. Philos. 142 In a Recoil escapement, when one tooth of the balance wheel drops off the first pallet, the other acting tooth falls on the inclined plane of the other pallet.
1860 E. B. Denison Clocks & Watches & Bells 74 The recoil escapement, which is still used in all the common clocks in the world, though it has long been abandoned in all that make any pretension to a great accuracy.
1928 Times 11 June 10/4 The anchor or recoil escapement and the seconds pendulum with the concentric minute-hand are here shown to be earlier than stated in the text-books.
2002 European Jrnl. Physics 23 452 He developed a recoil escapement to regulate the pendulum and prevent it from running down.
recoil gear n. Military the mechanism on a piece of artillery which absorbs the energy of recoil.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > recoil gear
recoil gear1887
1887 Times 16 Sept. 4/4 The carriage is also fitted with hydraulic recoil gear, and with a spring for forcing the gun back to the firing position after discharge.
1911 H. A. Bethell Mod. Artillery in Field i. 26 (heading) Hydropneumatic recoil gear.
2005 M. Green & G. Green Panzers at War ii. 44 The recoil gear casing on the front of the mantlet [sc. of a Panzer tank].
recoil momentum n. chiefly Physics the momentum of a recoiling gun, atom, particle, etc.
ΚΠ
1915 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 179 559 (title) A method for calculating that part of the recoil momentum of a gun which is due to the action of the gases after the projectile leaves the muzzle.
1924 Math. Gaz. 12 220 Bohn is evidently disinclined to believe that an emitting atom is endowed with recoil momentum.
1962 H. Semat Introd. Atomic & Nuclear Physics (ed. 4) xiv. 470 The mass to which the recoil momentum is transferred can be considered infinite in comparison with that of an atom, so that the velocity of recoil is zero.
2000 Science 11 Feb. 987/3 Wynar et al.'s techniques..could be modified to give two units of photon recoil momentum.
recoil-operated adj. (of a firearm) having a mechanism which uses the force of the firearm's recoil to reload automatically.
ΚΠ
1890 Newark (Ohio) Daily Advocate 5 June Mr. Teller offered an amendment to purchase and test a recoil-operated infantry small-arm of 30-calibre.
1945 C. E. Balleisen Princ. Firearms i. 3 The development of the recoil-operated machine gun by Maxim..produced the heavy machine gun in much the same form in which it exists today.
1994 Guns & Shooting June 21/2 Gepard M2 is a self-loader, recoil operated and fed from a 5 or 10 round magazine.
recoil pallet n. a pallet (pallet n.3 2) in the recoil escapement of a clock or watch.
ΚΠ
1883 E. B. Denison Clocks & Watches & Bells (ed. 7) 79 Recoil pallets—and dead ones too—should only just clear the teeth.
2008 www.bhi.co.uk 4 Jan. (O.E.D. Archive) The examination requires candidates to..design and make recoil pallets to work with an escape wheel and plate.
recoil spring n. a spring that checks or absorbs recoil, esp. in a firearm.
ΚΠ
1818 Ann. Philos. 12 381 When the gas is to be exploded, cover the open mouth of the syphon..and pass an electric spark. The common air acts as a recoil spring, and prevents the fracture of the tube.
1859 H. C. Folkard Wild-fowler xxii. 126 The best plan of all is Colonel Hawker's invention of a steel spiral recoil-spring.
1971 G. T. Garwood Gough Thomas's Second Gun Bk. xi. 211 If it were not for the friction device and the recoil spring, the parts of the gun with which the shooter makes contact..would not commence to recoil at all.
2006 Amer. Gunsmith (Nexis) 1 Sept. 3 The slide then moves forward under tension from the recoil spring to strip a round from the magazine and chamber it in the barrel.
recoil starter n. a device for starting a small internal combustion engine in which a cord, wound round a pulley, is rewound by a spring after being pulled for the starting cycle.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > starters
fire syringe1822
starting handle1836
magneto1882
self-starter1884
plug1886
gas starter1898
ignition plug1900
sparking plug1902
spark plug1903
dual ignition1909
impulse coupling1916
impulse starter1916
kick-starter1916
mag1918
cut-in1921
cartridge starter1922
recoil starter1931
glow plug1947
ignition1961
1931 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Press 10 July 10/8 (advt.) Johnson outboard motors for boats... Two larger motors with new recoil starters.
1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 16 Feb. 106/2 (advt.) Petrol-engine model with..two-stroke engine;..automatic recoil-starter eliminating the use of loose starting rope.
2002 Indiana (Pa.) Gaz. 26 May e2/4 Recoil starters have come a long way; with the addition of primer bulbs that inject fuel into the carburetor, usually one or two good pulls will start the engine.
recoil track n. Physics a track in a particle-detecting device or system produced by recoil of a particle.
ΚΠ
1923 Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 21 408 Some of the pictures which have been obtained show in a striking way the much greater density of the ionisation in the recoil tracks.
1930 E. Rutherford et al. Radiations from Radioactive Substances vi. 155 At ordinary pressure, the recoil track is shown by a knob at the end of the track. As the pressure is reduced, the recoil track becomes longer and often shows evidence of a marked scattering.
1997 Radiation Measurem. 28 495 The proton and heavy charged particle recoil tracks..were made visible by etching in NaOH solution.
recoil wave n. a wave resulting from recoil.
ΚΠ
1846 C. Darwin Geol. Observ. S. Amer. iii. 69 At Callao, the recoil-wave of the earthquake of 1746 carried great masses of brickwork..some way out seaward.
1879 A. Napier tr. P. Guttmann Handbk. Physical Diagnosis 250 Should these elevations, particularly the second of those described as recoil-waves, be considerably increased in height, this change becomes appreciable to the finger as dicrotism.
1941 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 178 165 As this front advances it sheds a recoil wave.
2007 Jrnl. High Energy Physics (Electronic ed.) Jan. 2 One may wonder why the local recoil wave does not decay into radiation, as would happen..to oscillation modes of macroscopic strings in a cosmological context.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
recoilv.1
/rᵻˈkɔɪl/, U.S. /rəˈkɔɪl/, /riˈkɔɪl/α. early Middle English reculi (south-west midlands), Middle English reculle, Middle English recuylle, Middle English–1600s recuile, Middle English–1600s recule, late Middle English recuyele, late Middle English recuyelle, 1500s recueil, 1500s requile, 1500s requyle, 1600s recuil; Scottish pre-1700 recool, pre-1700 recueil, pre-1700 recuil, pre-1700 recul, pre-1700 reculle, pre-1700 recvl, pre-1700 1800s recule.
β. Middle English–1600s recoile, Middle English– recoil, 1500s recoill, 1500s–1600s recoyl, 1500s–1600s recoyle, 1600s requoyle.
a. transitive. To beat, drive, or force back; to cause to retreat or retire. Frequently with adverb (esp. aback, back) or adverbial phrase. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > causing to go away > command to go away [verb (transitive)] > drive away > repel
recoil?c1225
to turn againc1330
to put awayc1350
rebukec1380
to put abacka1382
to put againa1382
again-puta1400
rebut?a1425
repeal?a1425
retroylc1425
rebatea1475
repel?a1475
repulse?a1475
to put backa1500
refel1548
revert1575
rembar1588
to beat back1593
rebeat1595
reject1603
repress1623
rambarrea1630
stave1631
refringe1692
slap-back1931
α.
β. a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 132 Tu ne meiht recoilen [?c1225 Cleo. reculen; c1230 Corpus reculin, a1250 Titus recuilen] him aȝeinward.1466 in Publ. Mod. Lang. Soc. (1907) 22 602 (MED) My lorde smote the kniȝte..that he recoilid hym to his hors behynde.1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. xii. sig. Aa Neither toyle nor traueill might her backe recoyle.1628 tr. P. Matthieu Powerfull Favorite 104 He was author of my Vnckles death, who recoiled his hopes.1645 City Alarum 10 Our passionate desire of an end recoyles us from the end.1667 Obs. Burn. Lond. 33 When it found any let or hinderance that did recoil it back, it blew equally both to the right and to the left.1726 J. Swift Cadenus & Vanessa 22 The Darts were in the cover fixt, Or often blunted and recoil'd.a1800 E. Birch Poems (1800) 62 Envy and hate pursue the nobler powers;..Wisdom divine, a shield from jealous darts, Recoil them back to pierce their own weak hearts.1843 J. Dayman tr. Dante Inferno iii. 18 Then wailing loud, their troop they gathered all, And back recoiled them to the baleful verge.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 216 Þu ne macht reculen [c1230 Corpus reculin, a1250 Nero recoilen, a1250 Titus recuilen] him aȝeinwart.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 3040 (MED) With strengþe þay reculede þat host a-bak more þan a boȝe-draȝte.
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) 58 He..reculed his enemyes abacke tyll within the barreys of the towne.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Certain Bks. Aenæis (1557) ii. sig. Bivv With this from thense I was recuiled back.
1573 T. Twyne tr. Virgil in T. Phaer & T. Twyne tr. Virgil Whole .xii. Bks. Æneidos xi. I. i. 4 Lyris while His bridell raignes he raught from horse to ground he doth requile.
1650 R. Gentilis tr. V. Malvezzi Considerations Lives Alcibiades & Corialanus 164 How behove-full would it be to recule and set by unfortunate men ere they were scarce known.
b. transitive (reflexive). To draw (oneself) back, retire. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > move backwards [verb (reflexive)] > retire, withdraw, or retreat
recovera1470
umbedrawc1485
recoil1490
retreat1495
retire?1548
retray1562
1490 Caxton's Blanchardyn & Eglantine (1962) 106 They..lepte and reculed hem self abake six passes or moo.
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 33/2 Whosoeuer will order himselfe according to Gods rule, must learne to recule & withdraw himselfe.
1614 T. Adams Diuells Banket iv. 183 A man that hath taken his careere, and runnes full fling to a place, cannot recoile himselfe.
c. transitive. To return or cast back (a thing) upon someone. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > reciprocal treatment or return of an action > treat one as he has been treated [verb (transitive)] > return something upon a person
return1484
retortc1559
recoil1578
1578 J. Bell tr. J. Foxe Serm. Christening Certaine Iew sig. Gviiv [Christ's crucifixion has] deliuered vs from euerlasting tormentes, and recoyled them backe vpon thine owne [sc. Satan's] head.
a1640 W. Fenner Hidden Manna (1652) Ep. Ded. sig. B2v I say, this [argument] may be recoyled back upon them.
1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 453 She reverseth the unjust judgment past upon the life of her people, and recoyls it upon the head of him that laid the plot.
a1675 J. Lightfoot Wks. (1684) II. 202 Although they out of pride and contempt fixed that disgraceful name [sc. Dogs] upon the Gentiles,..the Holy Spirit recoiled it upon themselves.
d. transitive. To take or carry (an account, narrative) back in time. Cf. sense 4d. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > tell (story) [verb (transitive)] > take back in time
recoil1603
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. ix. 16 Who recoile their narration so farre-backe, and stuff-it with so many vaine circumstances, that..they smother the goodnesse of it.
2.
a. intransitive. To retreat, retire, or draw back before an enemy or opposing force. Also figurative. Now rare.Very common (in form recule) from the late 15th to the early 17th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > move backwards [verb (intransitive)] > retire, withdraw, or retreat
withdraw1297
recoilc1330
give place1382
arrear1399
to draw backa1400
resortc1425
adrawc1450
recedec1450
retraya1470
returna1470
rebut1481
wyke1481
umbedrawc1485
retreata1500
retract1535
retire1542
to give back1548
regress1552
to fall back?1567
peak1576
flinch1578
to fall offa1586
to draw off1602
to give ground1607
retrograde1613
to train off1796
to beat a retreat1861
to back off1938
society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [verb (intransitive)] > retreat
withdraw1297
recoilc1330
faila1400
rere?a1400
give way1413
ruse?a1425
retreata1460
to leave place1487
wandis1487
settle1513
retire1533
retrace1539
dismarch1596
to come off1600
to fall back1602
retraicta1604
give grounda1616
recline1789
exfiltrate1980
α.
β. c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 6693 (MED) v forlong he dede hem recoile.1511 Pylgrymage Richarde Guylforde (Pynson) f. xliij We were with vyolence & Rage of the sayde tempest constreyned to recoyle and turne bakwardes.1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Riv/2 To Recoyle, recedere.1637 R. Humfrey tr. St. Ambrose Christian Offices i. 11 Skilfull darters who by recoyling are wont to gaine the day.1644 J. Vicars Jehovah-jireh 118 They were forced swiftly to recoyle and flie backe.1645 J. Milton Psalm cxiv in Poems 13 Jordans clear streams recoil, As a faint host that hath receiv'd the foil.1735 M. Barber Poems Several Occasions 117 So are you sully'd for a Season, Till Rage recoils, and yields to Reason.1798 R. Heron New Gen. Hist. Scotl. IV. 361 At the first assault, they recoiled back in disorder.1807 J. Barlow Columbiad v. 176 The French recoiling, half their victory yield.1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. vi. 171 The peasants swarmed like flies..but they recoiled as there rose glittering axes.1956 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples I. ii. iv. 169 Already desperately ill, Henry was defeated at Le Mans and recoiled into Touraine.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 971 (MED) Þe frensche men þai made reculle wel an akers lengþe.
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) v. xi. sig. k.iv The knyghtes..made them to recuyelle & flee.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) ci. 335 When Huon sawe them he sayd to his men ‘syrs, it is good that we recule to our cyte’.
1550 J. Coke Deb. Heraldes Eng. & Fraunce sig. Eiijv Charles..secretly reculed home with suche hungariens as escaped.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 35 The Britans being troubled with the strange forme of those Gallies..reculed.
1640 tr. G. S. du Verdier Love & Armes Greeke Princes i. 13 Doest thou not know that worthy Knights must never recuile for any consideration of danger whatsoever.
1666 W. Austin Ἐπιλοίμια Ἔπη: Anat. Pestilence i. 14 Each Officer..Studies the difference 'twixt place and place: How he with safety farthest may recule.
1827 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd 165 Come on, I will recule for nane.
b. intransitive. To stagger back from the effects of a blow, etc. Cf. sense 6b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > move backwards [verb (intransitive)] > go back from effect of blow
recoil?1473
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 134 Hercules..gaf so grete a strook to philotes that he made hym recule and goo a back more than foure foot.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xvi. 42 Huon..gaue þe erle such a stroke þat he..reculyd backe more than .ii. pases.
c1650 Don Bellianis 58 Arsileos horse with the strong stroke recoyled back three or four paces.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 194 Ten paces huge He back recoild . View more context for this quotation
1816 M. Holford Margaret of Anjou x. 457 Headlong they drive the shiv'ring lance, Then, back recoiling from the blow, To earth their broken spears they throw.
1916 A. E. Breen Daughter of Mexico iii. 78 The horses crashed in collision, and the soldier's mount recoiled back on its haunches.
2005 S. Goldberg Ready to Learn iii. x. 240 They [sc. football players] face each other and charge, banging their chests and recoiling back two feet.
a. intransitive. To retire, withdraw oneself to, unto a place. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > cause to move back [verb (transitive)] > withdraw into
relyc1440
resort1471
recoil?1473
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 303 The troians reculed vnto the walles.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Mark v. f. 38 The Lorde..reculed unto the water syde and toke shippe.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. I7 A whyle, I read you rest, and to your bowres recoyle.
1627 M. Drayton Battaile Agincourt 9 The Lawyer to his Chamber doth recule, For he hath now no bus'nesse at the Barre.
?1655 R. Baron Mirza v. 156 O woefull eyes! Why at this wailfull sight drop you not out? Or, frighted, recoile deep into you [sic] holes!
1706 Poems Four Last Things 21 Such is Man's end to epilogue his Toil, He putrifies and does to Earth recoil.
b. intransitive. To draw back, withdraw from an act or course of action, a promise, etc. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > reverse or abandon one's purpose or intention [verb (transitive)] > withdraw from an engagement or promise
runOE
withdraw1340
waivec1386
to pass from (also of, fro)c1449
recoil1481
to go back1530
recant1585
resile1641
shirk1778
renegea1849
slink1853
welsh1870
to throw over1891
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde i. v. 24 They that ought wnderstande vertues and to teche other..they ben they that recule and withdrawe fro it.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 271 b/1 The Appostle recuylled not but..wente forth Joyeng.
?1518 A. Barclay tr. D. Mancinus Myrrour Good Maners sig. Diiiv Submyttyng, hym selfe to deth..Rather than to recule, from the defence of ryght.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 60 If I recule now and draw backe, the reputation thereof will be diminished.
a1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. (1642) i. i. xvi. 49 So filthily recoyling from the Truth..that he became a setter up of false Idols.
1686 J. Bunyan Bk. for Boys & Girls 43 The sight of this doth make God's heart recoyl From giving thee his Blessing.
1759 D. Hume Hist. Eng. under House of Tudor II. ii. 491 He again renewed his consent; but in a few days he began anew to recoil.
4. † b. intransitive. To fall back or away (from some state or condition), to degenerate. Obsolete.† c. intransitive. To be situated back or away from. Obsolete. rare.† d. intransitive. To go back in memory or in a narrative. Cf. sense 1d. Obsolete. rare.
a. intransitive. To go back or backwards; to recede, retire, return. Also figurative. Now rare.In later use coloured by sense 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > move backwards [verb (intransitive)]
reversec1450
recoil1483
back1486
regressa1525
retire1542
flinch1578
retrograde1613
recur1616
retrocede1638
ravel1656
backen1748
regrede1800
regrade1811
retrogress1812
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 317/1 The shyppe recuyeled backward in to the Water soo that he fylle doune in to the deppest of the flood.
1489 W. Caxton tr. C. de Pisan Bk. Fayttes of Armes ii. xxxv. 146 As a ramme..whan he reculeth a bak for to hurte with hys hornes.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke xxi. 5 Whom soeuer of theim, this extreme distresse shall soodainly take in any forein countreyes..: leat not suche recule into Jewrie.
1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 159 According as the sunne doth approch neere, or recule from vs,..so haue we the daies longer or shorter.
1641 in T. Carte Hist. Duke of Ormonde (1735) III. 36 This gentleman will acquaint your Lordship how the affaires stand here, which rather recoyle than advance to his Majestie's service.
1651 tr. F. de Quintana Hist. Don Fenise 199 They perceived the earth to fall upon them, which terrified them very much, not knowing whether they should advance or recule.
1721 Independent Whig 247 After many wild Gestures, sometimes advancing, sometimes recoiling, like One affrighted and crazy,he gave the Sacrament.
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain i. i. 7 ‘What have you there?’ said she, poking her head into the book... She read over him for a few minutes, then recoiled.
1908 E. M. Forster Room with View ix. 166 As he approached her he found time to wish he could recoil.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > relapse > [verb (intransitive)]
recidivate1528
recoil1542
retrograde1613
recide1628
retrogress1812
1542 Dyalogue Defensyue for Women sig. Diii Thou mayst nat therfore, of the whole flocke complayne As thoughe euery woman, from vertue dyd recule.
1601 J. Weever Mirror of Martyrs sig. Cv Orleance Saw that his Souldiers courage gan recoile.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. iii. 20 A good and vertuous Nature may recoyle In an Imperiall charge. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. vi. 129 Be reueng'd, Or she that bore you, was no Queene, and you Recoyle from your great Stocke. View more context for this quotation
1682 M. Coppinger Poems 118 To see their manly Courage thus recoil.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. 177 To cast off reason..apostatize from humanity, and recoil into the bestial life.
ΚΠ
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin i. 48 A place betwene the walls of the same towne, and a ditch which reculeth about a thowsand passes from the towne.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > retrospection, reminiscence > look back, retrospect [verb (intransitive)]
to look backward?c1450
to look back1529
to look backwards1598
recoila1616
retrospect1664
run1692
revert1820
reverie1832
to think back (on or to)1901
to job backwards1907
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) i. ii. 156 Looking on the Lynes Of my Boyes face, me thoughts I did requoyle Twentie three yeeres.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. vii. 407 Now followed the fatall tragedy of the Duke of Somerset, and we must recoile a little, to fetch forward the cause thereof.
5. To start, flinch, or shrink. (Now the principal general sense.)
a. intransitive. To start or spring back in fear, horror, disgust, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > move backwards [verb (intransitive)] > start or spring back
hipc1300
again-frusha1382
recoil1513
to startle back1576
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid ix. xiii. 38 He full fers..Seand the scharp poyntis, recullis backwart.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande ii. f. 5/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I A toade..endeuouring to haue skipt ouer it, sodenly reculed backe, as though it had bene rapte in the hed.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 176 If a Vine stand neare vnto it, a man shall sensibly perceiue the same to shrinke away and recule backward from it.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 759 Back they recoild affraid At first, and call'd me Sin. View more context for this quotation
1747 W. Collins Odes 47 Fear..back recoil'd he knew not why, Ev'n at the Sound himself had made.
1774 H. More Inflexible Captive v. 68 I fac'd and slew the formidable serpent, That made your boldest Africans recoil, And shrink with horror.
1811 A. Liddiard Sgelaighe 32 Alarm'd, she recoil'd—‘Stay!—fear not—he said, 'Tis thy Father you fly.’
1865 S. Baring-Gould Bk. Were-wolves vii. 88 The little girls recoiled, and the youngest took refuge behind Jeanne.
1933 D. Garnett Pocahontas 174 Those glittering blue eyes made him recoil with terror as a man will recoil from a snake.
1972 G. Friel Mr Alfred M. A. xx. 174 She draped the streamer round Rose Weiper's neck and made to kiss her on both cheeks... Rose recoiled.
2002 R. Gervais & S. Merchant Office: Scripts 1st Ser. Episode 1. 40 I've got some photos. (He opens his drawer to get the photos, but recoils in horror.)... Oh, what is that?
b. intransitive. figurative. Of the mind, heart, etc.: to shrink at or from some prospect, thought, or action.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > abstain or refrain from action [verb (intransitive)] > avoid > shrink or recoil
wondec897
blencha1250
shunta1250
scurnc1325
blenka1330
blinka1400
startc1400
shrink1508
blanch1572
swerve1573
shruga1577
flinch1578
recoil1582
budgea1616
shucka1620
smay1632
blunk1655
shudder1668
resile1678
skew1678
reluctate1833
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie iii. 15 Wits shrink and recoill sooner, at a thing hard to learn thorough their own dulnesse, then theie do at anie labor in the greatest exercise.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. ii. 23 Who then shall blame His pester'd Senses to recoyle, and start. View more context for this quotation
1680 T. Otway Orphan v. 69 At each word that my Distraction utter'd, My heart recoyl'd.
1764 T. Reid Inq. Human Mind v. §7 Something within me that recoils against it.
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. ix. 363 The mind naturally recoils against the position.
1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe i. 67 The imagination fairly recoils from the prospect in horror.
1921 L. Strachey Queen Victoria ii. 25 Her good, plain, thrifty German mind recoiled with horror and amazement from the shameless junketings at Carlton House.
1952 M. Kennedy Troy Chimneys 29 It is..possible that an excessive unworldliness trapped him into a course from which a baser mind might have recoiled.
2005 Irish Independent (Nexis) 24 Sept. Arsenal players threw pizza at Manchester United's manager... The senses recoiled at such wretched behaviour.
c. intransitive. Of a person, etc.: to shrink or flinch mentally or emotionally from something; to feel repulsion, fear, or horror at (the thought of) something.
ΚΠ
1644 H. Parker Jus Populi 47 The ten Tribes, recoyling from the same pressures under..Rehoboam.
1662 Bp. E. Hopkins Funeral Serm. (1685) 64 Yet even he, as man, recoiles at that death, which, as God, he was assured to conquer.
1732 J. Ralph Loss of Liberty 15 At this..the wand'ring Bard Recoil'd with Heav'n-born Horror.
1792 W. Cowper in Yearly Bill Mortality Parish All-Saints (Northampton) 1791–2 (single sheet) Why deem we Death a Foe? Recoil from weary Life's best Hour, And covet longer woe?
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. i. x. 83 I recoil from the idea of marrying him.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People ii. §7. 96 The age..recoiled from the cool cynicism of his crimes.
1938 Amer. Speech 13 194 One need be very little of a purist to recoil from the current expression ‘I propositioned him’, meaning, of course, ‘I made a proposition to him’.
1989 A. Stevenson Bitter Fame v. 92 In Madrid they saw a bad bullfight. Sylvia recoiled in shocked disgust.
2002 Nation (N.Y.) 24 June 29/2 While some progressives might have first recoiled at the new policy..the racial diversity of freshman classes has been restored.
6. † c. intransitive. To spring back to the original position. Obsolete. rare.
a. intransitive. Of a firearm or piece of artillery: to spring back from the force of a discharge. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > discharge firearms [verb (intransitive)] > recoil
recoil1530
kick1832
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 681/2 Se howe yonder gonne reculeth or ever she lowse.
1640 E. Dering Coll. Speeches on Relig. 13 They have charged their Canons at us to the full, and never fearing that ever they would recoyle back into a Parliament, they have ramm'd a prodigious, ungodly Oath into them.
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. 75 A Pintell. Is a small iron Pin, which is fastned to murderers [sc. a type of gun]..to keep the peece from recoyling.
1660 W. Secker Nonsuch Professor 141 A peece ill charged instead of hitting the mark, does but recoil on him that shoots it.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Ball, when the Gun had liberty to recoil, was always thrown to the right.
1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 246/2 A barrel mounted upon a very straight stock will recoil more than one that is considerably bent.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 331/1 The shot it is believed has left the piece before the gun commences to recoil.
1900 Harper's Weekly 24 Mar. 271/3 This was effected by digging a gun-pit, and allowing the gun to run up a slight incline, when recoiling.
1986 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 8 Feb. e7 The cannon O'Neill was firing recoiled and ran over his leg.
2005 Financial Times (Nexis) 16 May 12 A gun had recoiled, sending the weapon's sight crashing into my head.
b. intransitive. gen. To rebound or spring back through force of impact or elasticity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > rebound > [verb (intransitive)]
to pilt up againa1200
bolt?c1225
rebounda1398
redoundc1500
stot1513
to strike upward1530
band1580
recoil1591
bound1597
result1598
retort1599
resile1641
bandy1658
resiliate1755
ricochet1804
reverberate1817
kick1832
dap1851
bounce1887
bank1962
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. i. 49 Tiber..by the ruines of it beeing dammed, reculing againe, ouerflowed.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage ix. i. 692 He [sc. the Plata]..with his vomited abundance maketh the salt waters to recoyle.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall i. 35 They must press upon the surface of the Earth, and, as it were recoyling thence [etc.].
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 874 He gleans the blunted shafts that have recoiled.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman v. 183 The bent bow recoils with violence, when the hand is suddenly relaxed that forcibly held it.
1811 P. B. Shelley Spectral Horseman in Posthumous Fragm. M. Nicholson 41 The meteors of midnight recoil from his figure.
1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) II. v. 63 They [sc. two balls] clash together, but, by virtue of their elasticity, they quickly recoil.
1989 Jrnl. Zool. 219 221 The fascia lata could help to reverse the backward swing of the hind limb by recoiling elastically shortly after the foot leaves the ground.
2007 States News Service (Nexis) 13 Sept. An F/A-18 Super Hornet landed wrong, snapping an arresting gear cable... He..took the full force of that broken wire as it recoiled back.
ΚΠ
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. 189 Habit..is more tough and stubborn; when you think you have quite weakened its spring, it will recoil again with wonted vigor.
d. intransitive. Physics. Of an atom or subatomic particle: to move apart from another atom or particle, at a speed determined by the law of conservation of momentum, following a collision or emission of a particle in radioactive decay. Cf. recoil n. 6.
ΚΠ
1866 Fortn. Rev. 3 135 Across this space the attraction urges them [sc. atoms]. They collide, they recoil, they oscillate.]
1909 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 82 212 When the residue of an emanation atom recoils as the result of the emission of an α-particle, the kinetic energy of the residue will be far less than that of the α-particle.
1966 New Scientist 5 May 296/3 An electromagnetic interaction between the electron and the nucleus can cause the electron to veer off in its path at some angle while the interacting nucleus recoils in a different direction.
1990 R. Morris Edges of Sci. i. ii. 26 One electron will emit a virtual photon, and recoil a bit as it does.
7. intransitive. To rebound, spring back, or return to the starting point or source; to rebound on or upon. Chiefly figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (intransitive)] > fall to one
tide955
comeOE
fallc1225
reboundc1425
redound1460
recoil1577
to fall in a person's path (also road, etc.)1605
sort1622
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Bp. Eusebius in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. iii. vi. 302 If they charge them with timorous feare, the fault recoyles and lighteth vpon their owne distempered brayne.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered iii. 13 They are like..arrowes shot vp against the Sunne, these reculing to their hurt that shot them.
1632 T. Hawkins tr. Plutarch in tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie i. 49 (margin) There is nothing so deformed as an injury which reculeth backe against him who spake it.
1664 H. Power Exper. Philos. iii. 156 Electrical fluors do presently recoyl by short streight lines to their Bodies again.
1682 J. Flavell Pract. Treat. Fear (new ed.) i. 3 All their councels and cruelties should recoyl upon themselves.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones V. xiv. vii. 160 The Good or Evil we confer on others, very often..recoils on ourselves. View more context for this quotation
1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 340 The accepter being discussed, the bill must recoil upon the drawer.
1776 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. Pref. p. xiv Precipitate censure, cast on a political institution, does but recoil on the head of him who casts it.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xv. 513 That evidence missed the mark at which it was aimed, and recoiled on him from whom it proceeded.
1882 J. H. Blunt Reformation Church of Eng. II. 185 Their treason recoiled on their own heads.
1931 J. Gavorse Suetonius' Lives Twelve Caesars ii. 117 The soothsayers agreed that all the dangers and disaster..would recoil on the heads of those who were in possession of the entrails.
1991 J. Davidson Nat. Creation & Formative Mind (BNC) 57 If man upsets his planetary ecosystem, then he is dirtying his own back garden which will automatically recoil upon him.
Derivatives
reˈcoiled adj.
ΚΠ
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe 61 By the honor of his house, and his neuer reculed sword.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Reculé Recoiled, repulsed.
1803 C. Fothergill Wanderer II. 75 In a recoiled attitude of affright, I stood nearly in a state of complete insensibility.
1949 Jrnl. Wildlife Managem. Apr. 226/1 The operating shaft..is in the recoiled position.
2002 A. T. Hubbard Encycl. Surface & Colloid Sci. II. 2125 Isolated grains of the solid that are larger than the path of the recoiled radon atoms.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† recoilv.2
Scottish. Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To collect, gather, obtain. Cf. recueil v.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > acquisition > obtain or acquire [verb (transitive)]
wieldeOE
haveeOE
ofgoOE
oweOE
addlec1175
winc1175
avela1200
to come by ——a1225
covera1250
oughtc1275
reachc1275
hentc1300
purchasec1300
to come to ——c1330
getc1330
pickc1330
chevise1340
fang1340
umbracec1350
chacche1362
perceivea1382
accroacha1393
achievea1393
to come at ——a1393
areach1393
recovera1398
encroach?a1400
chevec1400
enquilec1400
obtainc1422
recurec1425
to take upc1425
acquirea1450
encheve1470
sortise1474
conques?a1500
tain1501
report1508
conquest1513
possess1526
compare1532
cough1550
coff1559
fall1568
reap1581
acquist1592
accrue1594
appurchasec1600
recoil1632
to get at ——1666
to come into ——1672
rise1754
net1765
to fall in for1788
to scare up1846
access1953
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (transitive)]
somnec825
heapc900
gathera975
samc1000
to set togetherc1275
fang1340
assemblec1374
recueilc1380
drawa1393
to draw togethera1398
semblea1400
congatherc1400
congregatec1400
to take together1490
recollect1513
to gather togetherc1515
to get together1523
congesta1552
confer1552
collect1573
ingatherc1575
ramass1586
upgather1590
to muster upa1593
accrue1594
musterc1595
compone1613
herd1615
contract1620
recoil1632
comporta1641
rally1643
rendezvous1670
purse1809
adduct1824
to round up1873
reeve1876
to pull together1925
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. ii. 58 Fertile soyle, And trees from whence all times they fruit recoyle.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vi. 275 A contribution is granted..and also recoiled.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. vii. 329 Some Bay, or Creeke..Whence Ancorage, and safety ships recoile.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
recoilv.3
/ˌriːˈkɔɪl/, U.S. /riˈkɔɪl/ 1. transitive. To coil (rope, string, etc.) again.
ΚΠ
1792 Sequel Adventures Munchausen xi. 178 She darted and recoiled the quizzes in her right and left hand.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind ix. 245 Uncoiling the string, and recoiling it as before.
1880 Times 12 Aug. 8 When the wire is to be re-coiled the wagon turns back over the same route.
1936 Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune 30 Aug. 4/5 He can uncoil and re-coil a yo-yo spool 500 times in 30 minutes.
1970 J. Dickey Deliverance 157 Bobby stepped over to me as I paid out and recoiled the thin rope that had been at my waist the whole time.
2000 Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) (Nexis) 22 Apr. 1 c A descended cable interfered with play and there was a..delay as work crews recoiled the cord.
2. intransitive. To coil again. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1792 Sequel Adventures Munchausen xi. 179 She, nodding, made the quiz pendant from her mouth flow down and recoil again.
1800 J. Bell Answer for Junior Members Royal Coll. Surgeons 44 He..contemplates, with ineffable delight, the continual working of the intellectual operations, coiling and recoiling!
1908 J. B. Pettigrew Design in Nature I. vi. 23 Mature tendril in the act of re-coiling and forming a left-handed spiral.
2005 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 30 Jan. ii. 14 Dancers..spin out and back from their partners like whips uncoiling and recoiling.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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