reductionn.
/rᵻˈdʌkʃn/, U.S. /rəˈdəkʃ(ə)n/, /riˈdəkʃ(ə)n/ I. Bringing back; restoration.† 3.
1. Surgery. The action of reducing a fracture, hernia, dislocated part, etc. (reduce v. 8); an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > surgery > treatments uniting or replacing parts > [noun] > setting bones or dislocations
algebraa1400
reduction?a1425
bone-setting1587
reposition1588
coaptation1783
reposit1849
fixation1897
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 7v Here shal noȝt be put but grosse & materiale anathomie which may directe a Cirurgien wirchyng in inscisions & reduccions [?c1425 Paris settynges togedre; L. reductionibus] of membrez.
a1450 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Caius 336/725) (1970) 28 Of special reduccioun of fracture of þe skulle.
1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate 128 The reduction of parts disioyned and dislocated to vnion.
1656 J. Smith Compl. Pract. Physick 161 That which is longwaies is soonest cured, for there needs no reduction.
1738 Philos. Trans. 1735–6 (Royal Soc.) 39 333 The Increase of the Tumour had been checked, and the Reduction of the Parts prolapsed thereby, rendered impracticable.
1834 London Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 4 3/1 In modern times, surgeons are both more cautious and more skilful in their manner of applying force for the reduction of dislocations.
1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. 9 288 Reduction of displacement could not be effected till 1 inch of lower fragment was cut off.
1957 J. C. Adams Outl. Fractures Introd. 2 Some fractures do not require reduction.
1998 Amer. Surg. 64 1218 Careful reduction of the hernia and surgical repair will avoid injury to the major mesenteric vessels juxtaposed to the hernial orifice.
2.
a. The action of bringing someone or something back to (also from) a particular state, condition, belief, etc. Formerly also without construction, in positive sense: †restoration, redemption (obsolete). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > amending > restoration > [noun]
restoringa1382
reparellingc1410
reduction1447
rehaving1472
redintegration1501
restoration1510
reintegration1570
resource1596
reducement1604
reinstauration1610
retrievala1643
revindication1643
retrievement1657
retrieve1658
recoveringa1660
reviction1679
retrieving1718
revulsionc1760
rehabilitation1830
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > [noun]
chastyinga1300
amendmentc1300
risingc1350
castigationc1397
reclaima1400
reformation1425
emendationc1540
emendingc1542
recovery1542
reparence1556
emendment1569
reduction1610
reclamation1629
reclaimer1650
reform1738
1447 in J. Raine Corr., Inventories, Acct. Rolls, & Law Proc. Priory of Coldingham (1841) 160 The goode, diligent, frutefull, and notabill costez and labour made in the courte of Rome for reduccion of patronage of our Churchez within the diocesse of seynt Andrew in Scotlande.
1484 Rolls of Parl.: Richard III (Electronic ed.) Parl. Jan. 1484 §1. m. 4 Desyryng..the peas..of this lande and the reduccion of the same to the auncien honourable estate and prosperite.
1557 in Burnet Hist. Ref. (1681) II. Records ii. ii. No. 34 For reduction of your Majesty's Realm of Ireland to the Unity of the Church.
1600 J. Hamilton Facile Traictise Ded. sig. ★3 For the reduction of dissauit people in maters of religion, to the salutaire vnion..of Christs halie Catholik kirk.
1610 Bible (Douay) II. Hag. i. Marginal Annot. Reduction of soules from sinne, & amending of il maners.
1645 H. Hammond Of Sinnes (1646) 41 Every such sinne that is thus added to the tale, makes the reduction of any sinner more difficult and improbable then before it was.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan iii. xli. 263 God having determined his sacrifice, for the reduction of his elect to their former covenanted obedience.
1677 T. Gale Court of Gentiles: Pt. III iii. 98 The reduction of the soul from its night-day to the true Light of Being.
1722 T. Coney Devout Soul v. i. 179 O Blessed Jesus, who hast appeared Personally for the Reduction of Sinners.
1796 S. Mead (title) A faithful hint for the final reduction and restoration of sinners.
1937 J. Lindsay John Bunyan x. 99 The shock of her blindness may have had something to do in the final reduction of Bunyan to grace.
b. Chemistry. Restoration of a metal to the unchanged or metallic state; = revivification n. 2a. Now historical.Passing into senses 11a, 11b.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > conversion of metals
reduction1741
1741 tr. J. A. Cramer Elements Art of assaying Metals 186 Metals destroyed, and changed into Scoria or Ashes, are, by their Union with the same matter, again restored to their metallick Form. This Operation is called Reduction.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 301 Revivification is a word used in the same sense as reduction.
1971 Notes & Rec. Royal Soc. 26 176 The startling observation that the same electric discharge could cause both the calcination (oxidation) and revivification (reduction) of metals.
a. The action of bringing back a person, thing, institution, etc., to a place previously occupied; return, retrieval. Also with to, from, out of. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > guidance in travel > [noun] > guiding, leading, or showing the way > back
reduction1548
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cxliiijv To..entreate with the nobles of the Countery for the reduccion of kyng Cristierne, to his realme, Croune, and dignitie.
1557 J. Knox Sel. Writings (1845) 184 After their reduction, their lives did nothing amend.
1600 R. Cecil Let. 11 July (1864) 4 Her Matie doth well perceaue and weigh that his reduction uppon any reasonable termes wilbe of great vse.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. viii. 11 In the Convocation..there were found but six which opposed the Reduction of Popery.
a1683 J. Owen Exercit. Hebrews (1684) xiii. 268 The Reduction of Christ from the Dead, by the God of Peace.
1741 W. Warburton Divine Legation Moses II. 322 The whole History of their Reduction out of Egypt.
1792 T. Scott Holy Bible with Notes III. Isa. xliii. (note) The deliverance from Egypt was attended with far greater wonders, than the reduction of the Jews from Babylon.
b. Scottish. The action of bringing coin back into the mint. Cf. reduce v. 14b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > specific processes
reduction1581
milling1639
collaring1834
1581–2 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. III. 463 For inbringing and reductioun of quhilk money thair wes nominat and appointit William Napier and Thomas Aitchesoun..to ressave all the said cunyie.
1582 in R. W. Cochran-Patrick Rec. Coinage Scotl. (1876) II. 313 Past of xvj s. peicis according to ane act of reductioun in x. xx. xxx. and xl s. peices.
4. Chiefly Law. The action or an act of reducing or bringing something into possession (cf. reduce v. 15b). Formerly also without construction.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal possession > [noun] > bringing something into possession
reduction1647
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. 67 [1 Corinthians 3:22: All are yours] Though not in possession, yet in use, or by way of reduction, as we say.
1820 R. S. D. Roper Treat. Law Property I. v. 205 It is to be ascertained, what acts in pais will not be a reduction into possession of the choses in action so as to bar the widow of her right to them.
1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 453/2 It is still doubtful whether the assignment by a husband of his wife's immediate choses in action is a reduction into possession.
1939 Mod. Law Rev. 2 274 It might be argued..that the wife was..seeking..merely to accelerate the reduction into possession of something already vested in her.
1999 R. Higgins in A. Boyle & D. Freestone Internat. Law & Sustainable Devel. v. 98 It accepted Turkey's contention that the seismic exploration was transitory and entailed, at this juncture, no reduction into possession.
II. Bringing down; restriction.† 6. With into, unto. Formal organization in accordance with a rule; (also) the action of bringing something into conformity with a standard. Obsolete.
5. Subjugation or conquest of a place, people, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > victory > [noun] > conquering or defeating
vanquishinga1325
conquestc1325
wainc1330
conqueringa1340
overcoming1340
conquest1384
expugnation1429
reduction1429
profligationc1475
debellation1526
defeating1536
conquessingc1550
conquesting1555
vanquishment1593
conquerment1597
eviction1602
reducement1609
debellatinga1626
debelling1651
triumphingc1850
lathering1865
1429 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1834) III. 337 (MED) Oure said souverain Lord hath yeven..his licence roiale and assent to his subgittes..for to passe out of þis his said land..for þe reduccion or chastisyng of þe heretikes in Beeme.
c1500 Melusine (1895) 369 After the reducyon of the Fortres.
1524 Begynnynge Ordre Knyghtes Hospytallers sig. Aivv The sayd ordre of knyghthode & hospytal was fulfylled with renowne and rychesse under the gouernynge of the sayd Raymonde fyrst mayster, specyally after the reduccyon of the holy cyte of Jerusalem to crysten men.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 276 Babylon thus taken, it gave the Turk the easier reduction of Diarbec.
1756 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. I. 166 The famous reduction, as it was called, was carried so far, that all the fundamental laws..were entirely subverted and destroyed.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xiii. 371 The reduction of Egypt was immediately followed by the Persian war.
1828 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 374/2 He served for seven months in the Charib country, and commanded a post in the woods during the reduction of those people.
1877 L. P. Brockett Cross & Crescent 49 The first exploit which Basil's successor..attempted, was the reduction of Kazan.
1945 B. H. M. Vlekke Evol. Dutch Nation vii. 144 Philip now saw that naval forces would be more important than land forces in the reduction of the rebellious provinces.
2004 C. B. Champion Cultural Politics in Polybius's Hist. iv. 106 These wars led imperceptibly to the Roman reduction of the rebel garrison at Rhegium.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > [noun] > in order to conform > to a standard or purpose
reductionc1443
temper?1523
adjustment1644
adjustation1669
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 417 (MED) Neiþer it was so in tyme of seint benet, in his reduccioun of monkis into a reule.
1597 H. Broughton (title) Daniel his Chaldie visions..expounded..by reduction of heathen most famous stories vnto the exact proprietie of his wordes.
7. Scots Law. The action of rescinding or annulling a deed, decree, etc. (see reduce v. 26); an action seeking to achieve this.reduction-improbation: see Compounds 2. reduction reductive: see reductive adj. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > illegality > [noun] > legal invalidity or faultiness > annulment or abrogation
reversing?a1425
repealing1431
abatementc1436
cancellingc1440
annullation1449
defeasance1456
voidance1488
reversal1489
reduction1496
repeal1503
extinguishment1528
disannulling1533
abrogation1535
obrogation1535
unplacing1554
nullity1555
reversement1572
reclaim1604
disaffirmancea1626
avoidance1628
rescinding1638
cassating1647
vacating1648
voiding1649
defease1650
annulment1651
unlawing1651
defeat1657
vacuating1684
peremption1726
invalidation1771
rescindment1783
supersession1790
disaffirmation1827
disenactment1859
discharge1892
1496 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1814) II. 239/1 Thai sall..tyne thair priuilege of reductioun of the said proces and errour for all tyme to cum.
1546 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 37 Tuiching the reductioun of the infeftmentis, chartour or chartouris of talye.
1578–9 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. III. 91 The mater dependand under reductioun befoir his Hienes and the saidis Lordis of Secreit Counsale.
1630 Acts Sederunt Scotl. (1740) I. 6 Summonds of reductioune of Retours that has bene retourit to the Chancellary.
1706 Act 6 Anne c. 11 Art. 19 All reviews reductions or suspensions of the sentences in maritime cases.
a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) II. iv. 1 §24 647 Simple reductions, where improbation is not also libelled, are now seldom made use of.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 833 The effect of a decree of reduction is, that the deed thereby reduced ceases to be of any effect against the party who has obtained it.
1895 Aberdeen Jrnl. 8 Oct. 6/4 At the hearing, a signeted summons of reduction was produced by the objector's agent, which he stated would be served on the following day.
1937 St. Andrews Citizen 14 Aug. 11 The proper course would not be appeal, but an action for reduction—that is suspension of the whole proceedings.
1957 Scotsman 28 Feb. 8 If a rent tribunal acted without jurisdiction under existing law the only remedy was an action of reduction in the Court of Session.
1993 Times Sc. Law Rep. 30 Dec. 34/3 The petitioner had then applied to the Keeper for effect to be given to the reduction by making an entry in the respective title sheets.
8. Military. The action of stripping an officer of his or her rank; demotion. Also reduction to the ranks.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > enlistment or recruitment > appointment to rank > [noun] > demotion to lower rank
reduction1806
1806 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi (1810) 78 I examined into the conduct of my sergeant, and found that he was guilty and punished him by reduction, &c.
1833 G. C. D'Aguilar Observ. Pract. & Forms District Courts Martial 64 A Lance Corporal may at any time..be ordered to return to his duty as a Private; it is therefore unnecessary that his reduction should form part of the sentence of a Court Martial.
1847 P. G. Ferguson Diary 5 July in S.W. Hist. (1936) IV. 347 The decision of the court-martial had been read, confirming McCabe's reduction to the ranks and sentencing him to fifteen days' confinement.
1970 L. Deighton Bomber (1972) xxxiv. 468 The above-named has been found unsuitable for any further duties in aircrew capacity and his reduction from NCO rank has therefore been ratified by Air Ministry.
2001 Times (Nexis) 16 Mar. An appeal..against a sentence of 265 days detention and reduction to the ranks imposed at a district court-martial at Aldershot on March 14, 2000.
III. Conversion, esp. to a simpler or more basic form; diminution.
9.
a. Mathematics. The process of expressing a number or quantity in terms of another denomination or unit, either a higher one (more fully ascending reduction) or a lower one (more fully descending reduction). Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > denomination > change into another
reduction1543
conversion1557
1543 R. Record Ground of Artes i. sig. M.iiiv Reduction is, by which all summes of grosse denomination, may be turned into summes of more subtyle denomination: and contrary wayes.
1649 F. Holyoake Riders Dict. (new ed.) sig. Dd1b In the reduction of these auncient measures to this equality with our English assise, I have had respect only to Troy weight.
1678 J. Hawkins Cocker's Arithm. viii. 104 Reduction Descending, is when it is Required to Reduce a Sum or Number of a greater Denomination, into a lesser... Reduction Ascending, is when it is Required to Reduce or bring a Sum or Number of a smaller Denomination into a Greater.
1774 W. Perry Man of Business 75 Reduction Descending and Ascending is performed by both Multiplication and Division... Examples. 1. In 84 l. how many pence and half crowns? Answer, 20160 pence, 672 half crowns.
1870 in P. Horn Village Educ. in 19th-cent. Oxfordshire (1979) 27 [Nov. 22] Taught reduction to Standards IV, V.
1925 Elem. School Jrnl. 25 672 [‘Arithmetic One Hundred Years Ago’] A large part of the pupils' time was taken up with mastering these reductions. They were subdivided into reduction ascending and reduction descending. It was pointed out to the pupil that the former term was objectionable because we do not ‘reduce’ when small units are expressed in terms of larger units, as when shillings are expressed in pounds.
b. Mathematics. The process of converting a fraction to an equivalent form, esp. one with the lowest possible values of numerator and denominator.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > ratio or proportion > fraction > [noun] > process of reducing fraction
abbreviation1562
reduction1594
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises xxvii. f. 34v The Diuision is to be done either by reduction into the smallest Fractions, or without reduction: which last way is very hard and tedious.
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 152 Reduction of Fractions declareth the proportion of one number to another, or of broken parts to broken parts.
1823 J. Mitchell Dict. Math. & Physical Sci. 420/1 Reduction of algebraic fractions is performed in exactly the same manner as the reduction of common fractions.
a1831 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 441/2 Rules are also given for the reduction of vulgar to decimal fractions by a simple proportion.
1920 N. J. Lennes & F. Jenkins Appl. Arithm. II. 321 The reduction is performed by simply carrying out the indicated division.
2007 M. Baron Probability & Statistics Computer Scientists ii. 27 With further reduction of fractions, the probability equals..0.3522.
c. Mathematics. The process of simplifying or reducing a mathematical expression, equation, etc. (see reduce v. 21d).
ΚΠ
1668 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 3 686 In these Æquations, Reduction shall no wise profit, forasmuch as 'tis impossible..to change an Imaginary root into a real one.
1743 W. Emerson Doctr. Fluxions 36 Suppose the given Equation x2ẏ = xẋ − ẋ − yx2ẋ; by Reduction ẏ = ẋ/ x − yẋ − ẋ/ xx.
1859 J. Day Introd. Algebra (new ed.) viii. 119 The general rule for the reduction of n equations containing n unknown quantities may be stated thus. Combine any one of the equations with each of the others, so as to eliminate in each case the same unknown quantity. [Etc.]
1945 E. T. Bell Devel. Math. (ed. 2) xiv. 305 Hermite in 1850 simplified the theory of reduction for ternaries, and in 1851 devised his general analytic method of continuous reduction.
2006 R. M. Jones Buckling of Bars, Plates, & Shells iii. 285 No exact solution is known for the differential equation governing buckling which, by reduction from Equation (3.162), is [etc.].
d. Geometry. The process of rectifying a curve or otherwise representing it by a simpler curve.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > [noun] > action or process > reduction
complanation1695
reduction1880
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. II. 120/2 Catalogue of works... Quadrature of curves... Demoivre's method of quadrature and reduction.
1880 Proc. Royal Soc. 30 427 The reduction of this curve by the method previously explained leads to the equation [etc.].
1972 M. Kline Math. Thought xxxix. 941 The reduction of curves to these simpler forms facilitates the application of many of the methodologies of algebraic geometry.
e. The transformation of data into a simpler or more convenient form. In later use frequently in Computing (more fully data reduction). Cf. reduce v. 21c.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > data > database > [noun] > transfer or manipulation > simplification
reduction1851
1851 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 14 149 It then only remained to employ the average results founded upon the bankers' and brokers' returns in the reduction of the data furnished by the Stamp Office.
1895 Geogr. Jrnl. 6 370 Humboldt's sections were rendered possible..by Ramond's improvement of the formula for the reduction of barometric data.
1915 Amer. Naturalist 49 587 In the reduction of data..the length of the lines x and y were measured with proportional dividers..giving a reading in tenths of microns.
1950 W. W. Stifler High-speed Computing Devices (Engin. Res. Associates) ii. 7 In on-line operation the input is communicated directly..to the data-reduction device.
1969 P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 423 Reduction can take several forms: changing the encoding to eliminate redundancy, or extracting significant details from the data and eliminating the rest [etc.].
1997 J. C. King & J. Turner Antarctic Meteorol. & Climatol. v. 187 The reduction of data at the topographic surface to mean sea level is fraught with problems.
1999 What Hi-Fi? Awards Issue 33/1 MP3 technology..is a data reduction system which shrinks the memory size of..digital audio files.
10.
a. Logic. The process of reducing a syllogism (†or proposition) to another, esp. a simpler or clearer, form. See also direct reduction n. at direct adj. and adv. Compounds, indirect reduction n. at indirect adj. 2b, ostensive reduction n. at ostensive adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > [noun] > reduction of one syllogism to another
reduction1552
1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Hvijv To make a thing otherwise, then it was before, to reduce it, or to bryng it to more plain vnderstandyng, in the shape and forme of the first figure, is called reduccion.
1599 T. Blundeville Art of Logike v. xii. 130 Reduction here is none other thing but a declaration, proouing or shewing the goodnes of an unperfect sillogisme, by a sillogisme of a perfect moode.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Oo 2 The Reduction to be of two kindes Direct, and Inuerted; the one when the Proposition is reduced to the Principle, which they terme a Probation ostensiue: the other when the contradictorie of the Proposition is reduced to the contradictorie of the Principles, which is, that which they call Per Incommodum, or pressing an absurditie. View more context for this quotation
1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica ii. ix. 42 Reduction is either ostensive or else by way of impossible.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Reduction of Propositions, is used in a more general Sense, for any Expression of a Proposition, by another Proposition equivalent thereto.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Reduction of Syllogisms, is a regular changing or transforming of an imperfect Syllogism into a perfect one.
1798 Pleasing Compan. 38 The conclusive force of this syllogism was evident enough without such reduction.
1827 J. Huyshe Treat. Logic iii. vi. 124 (note) Whenever the premises of any syllogism are transposed in its reduction, the conclusion must necessarily be converted.
1896 J. Welton Man. Logic (ed. 2) I. iv. iv. §128. 358 Reduction is indirect when a new syllogism is formed which establishes the validity of the original conclusion by showing the illegitimacy of its Contradictory.
1949 Philos. Sci. 16 95 In these cases, the reduction serves only the theoretical purpose of showing that syllogisms follow from the definition of universal predication.
1996 G. Englebretsen Something to reckon With i. 14 Aristotle's favoured way of proving a valid syllogistic inference was reduction.
b. reduction to the absurd (also to absurdity): = reductio ad absurdum n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [noun] > reduction to absurdity
reduction to the absurd (also to absurdity)1712
reductio ad absurdum1730
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical syllogism > logical argument > [noun] > types of logical argument > reduction to absurdity
reductio ad impossibile1552
reduction to the absurd (also to absurdity)1712
apagogea1753
apagogy1847
1712 H. Ditton Disc. Resurrection Jesus ii. xxiv. 156 A Reduction to Absurdity, in some Proofs of the Moral Kind, is..more to be avoided.
1803 Cobbett's Ann. Reg. 2 Suppl. 1369 The reduction to the absurd is a good demonstration in geometry; it is equally good in history.
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. xv. 506 [The Doctor] had a courteous clever process of the reduction to the absurd, which seldom failed to tell.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 26 May 1/2 Such reductions to absurdity of the universal eight hours day are..less necessary now.
1913 B. Matthews Shakspere as Playwright ii. 16 This astounding assertion..is only the reduction to the absurd of an opinion hinted at by Johnson in the eighteenth century and held by Lamb in the nineteenth.
1963 R. G. de Bray tr. A. Reymond Hist. Sci. Greco-Roman Antiq. i. i. 60 On these foundations he [sc. Eudoxus] established the basis of the method of exhaustion,..which has for its complement the reduction to absurdity.
2003 F. E. Peters Monotheists II. x. 344 The intent was probably to demolish belief in the Afterlife by a legal reduction to the absurd, but Jesus takes the question seriously and gives a serious answer.
11.
a. Chemistry. The action or process of transforming a substance into a different physical state or form, esp. a simpler or purer one. Now historical.Passing into senses 2b, 11b; see also note at reduce v. 17a(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > chemical reactions or processes (named) > reduction > resolution into a simpler compound
reduction1576
1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health iii. f. 192v And for that cause doe the auncient Philosophers, make mention of the reduction vnto the first matter, vnto which when it shall come, the matter attaineth an extreeme subtilnesse.
a1626 Dr. Meverel in Baconiana (1679) 128 Reduction is chiefly effected by Fire, wherein if they stand and nele, the imperfect Metals vapour away.
1650 J. French tr. Paracelsus Of Nature of Things 84 in tr. M. Sędziwóg New Light of Alchymie By Reduction is separated what is fluxil, from what is solid, a Metal from its Minerall, and one Metall from another, a Metall from its dross, fat from what is not fat.
1651 J. French Art Distillation vi. 175 In vain do Artists endeavour the reduction of metalls into their first matter.
1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 391 A reduction of the Lead, which is always attended with a sort of effervescence, and such a considerable heaving, that..most of the mixture runs over the crucible.
1851 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. (ed. 2) 266 The action of the Stomach is restricted, in the higher animals, to the reduction of the food by the solvent powers of the gastric juice.
1994 W. R. Newman Gehennical Fire iv. 137 He is at pains that the reader not attribute the reduction of the regulus [of antimony] to the niter.
b. Chemistry and Metallurgy. The conversion of ore into metal; the smelting of a metal from its ore.In early use often hard to distinguish from senses 2b, 11a, being variously regarded as a restoration or purification of the metal. In later use passing into sense 11c.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > extraction from ore > smelting
roastingc1350
reducing?a1425
smelting1531
trying1630
excoction1640
reduction1666
eliquation1741
roast1870
beneficiation1881
1666 Philos. Trans. 1665–6 (Royal Soc.) 1 329 The Reduction of Ore into Metal.
1755 Philos. Trans. 1754 (Royal Soc.) 48 860 The sulphureous pabulum, so necessary to the reduction of an antimonial calx.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XI. 453/2 The reduction of iron-ore..requires a violent and long-continued heat.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 710 The reduction of a portion of the roasted ore is begun at the same time.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 98 Just below the top, where reduction takes place by the contact with the carbonic oxide, the fire is a dull red.
1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) i. 3 To the latter class [sc. chemical reactions which absorb energy] belong the reduction of metals from their ores [etc.].
1999 Near Eastern Archaeol. 62 195/3 The other samples turned out to be ore in various stages of reduction and fragments of molten clay.
c. Chemistry. The process which is the reverse of oxidation; the removal of oxygen from, or addition of hydrogen to, a compound. Also in extended use: partial or complete donation of an electron to an atom or molecule; a decrease in the oxidation state or of the proportion of electronegative constituents in a molecule or compound. Cf. oxidation n.Not always distinct from sense 11b, from which this sense apparently developed: see note s.v. reduce v. 17c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > [noun] > chemical reactions or processes (named) > reduction
reduction1796
1796 R. Heron tr. A.-F. de Fourcroy Elements Chem. & Nat. Hist. IV. 273 To this class belong, the oxidation of metals by acids,—the reduction of metallic oxides by coal.
1803 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 93 312 By recent muriate of tin we have..with copper, a reduction from the black oxide at 20 per cent. of oxygen, to the yellow oxide at 11,5 per cent. of oxygen.
1844 G. Fownes Man. Elem. Chem. 186 Oxide of iron heated in a tube through which a stream of hydrogen is passed, suffers almost instantaneous reduction to the metallic state.
1862 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. (ed. 2) III. iii. 61 Processes of reduction are less completely under the control of the chemist than those of oxidation.
1900 W. A. Shenstone Elem. Inorg. Chem. 177 The terms oxidation and reduction are no longer confined to changes in which oxygen plays a part... The term reduction may be applied to any change which involves a decrease in the relative amount of the negative radicle present in a compound.
1930 L. B. Flexner tr. L. Michaelis Oxidation-reduction Potentials 10 We shall simply collect together as equivalent processes (1) the addition of oxygen, (2) the loss of hydrogen, and (3) the loss of electrons and call them all oxidations, and their converses, reductions.
1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Org. Chem. x. 177 Aldehydes readily undergo reduction to alcohols.
1970 E. J. Ambrose & D. M. Easty Cell Biol. ii. 62 Reduction is regarded conversely as involving a gain of electrons, and substances which have the characteristic of giving up electrons to other substances are called reducing agents.
2003 Science 9 May 929/3 Nitrogenase..catalyzes the reduction of dinitrogen to ammonia during the process of biological nitrogen fixation.
12. gen. Conversion into (also to) a certain state, form, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > [noun] > causing > bringing into certain state or form
reducement1604
reduction1605
the world > time > change > change to something else, transformation > [noun] > change into
reduction1605
deduction1650
resolution1659
conversion1661
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning i. sig. G1v Another Errour..is the ouer-early and peremptorie reduction of knowledge into Arts and Methodes. View more context for this quotation
1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate Termes 345 Leuigation is the reduction of any hard and ponderous matter by comminution, and diligent collision into fine powder, like Alcool.
1656 J. Bramhall Replic. to Bishop of Chalcedon vi. 263 If it had been only the reduction of these new mysteries into the form of a Creed, that did offend us.
1762 Ann. Reg. 1761 ii. 154/2 The reduction of the body to ashes, the urnal inclosure of those ashes.
1826 J. M. Good Bk. Nature I. xii. 312 Chymification, or its [sc. food's] reduction into pulp..is the office of the stomach.
1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1853) 3rd Ser. vii. 95 The reduction of society to that state in which the monster injustice has been perpetrated.
1929 R. H. Clapperton & W. Henderson Mod. Paper-making vi. 68 The final clearing of knots, and the reduction of the longer fibres to a uniform length, are often performed by a refiner or perfecting engine.
1989 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 2 July vii. 2/1 The events that led to her [sc. Anne Frank's] reduction to ashes in Bergen-Belsen within seven months.
2005 Electronic Engin. Times (Nexis) 7 Mar. 1 The improved compute cycles allowed the reduction of audio and data into chunks appropriate for Internet conferencing.
13. Chiefly Astronomy. The correction or adjustment of observations to allow for modifying circumstances, such as parallax, refraction, etc. (see also quot. 1704).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > [noun] > correction
limation1669
reduction1812
1672 J. Gadbury Ephemerides Celestial Motions sig. d2 Ephemerides are not only of use to such persons, as inhabite the same Latitude unto which it is referred; but unto such as are abiding in any part of this Earthy Globe. And this by a very easie Reduction from its proper Meridian unto them.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Reduction, in Astronomy, is the difference between the Argument of Inclination and the Eccentrical Longitude.
1812 R. Woodhouse Elem. Treat. Astron. x. 73 The reduction of a star's place seen from the surface, to the center.
1825 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 2 295 It is possible to correct angles measured by an incorrect or ill adjusted instrument, by mathematical formulæ, when the data for the reduction are exactly known.
1833 J. F. W. Herschel Astron. (1858) v. 215 The complete reduction..of an astronomical observation, consists in applying..five distinct and independent corrections.
1934 H. S. Jones Gen. Astron. (ed. 2) v. 99 In the case of stars which are not too close to the pole and for periods of time which are not more than a few score years, an approximate reduction is sufficient.
2003 A. E. Roy & D. Clarke Astron.: Princ. & Pract. (ed. 4) x. 112 In general, astronomical observations of an object's position undergo a process of reduction.
14.
a. The action of reducing the amount, quantity, extent, etc., of something; the action or fact of becoming smaller; diminution, lessening; cutting down, curtailment; an instance of this.arms, debt-, noise reduction, etc.: see the first word.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun]
waningc900
littlingOE
lessingc1350
abating1370
diminutionc1374
minishinga1382
decrease1383
remissiona1398
shrinkinga1398
decreasing1398
adminishing?c1400
abbreviation?a1425
lessening?a1425
minoration?a1425
disincrease1430
abatement1433
restrictiona1450
batea1475
diminuation1477
limitation1483
abate1486
minute1495
minishment1533
mitigation1533
diminishinga1535
extenuation1542
slacking1542
reduce1549
diminishment1551
perditionc1555
debatementa1563
rebatement1573
obstriction1578
imminution1583
contracting1585
contraction1589
rabate1589
rebating1598
retrenchmentc1600
decession1606
ravalling1609
reducement1619
decrement1621
bating1629
shrivellinga1631
decretion1635
dejection1652
abater1653
rolling back1658
limiting1677
batement1679
reduction1695
depression1793
downdraw1813
descent1832
decess1854
lowering1868
shrinkage1873
dégringolade1883
minification1894
degrowth1920
downrating1950
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [noun]
wanea1300
ravalling1609
extenuation1620
diminution1691
reduction1800
degrowth1920
attrition1924
downgrade1935
1631 W. Twisse Discov. D. Iacksons Vanitie ii. vi. 159 This piercing of time, or reduction of many yeares into a small space being as utterly impossible as the penetration of dimension in magnitude, if not much more.]
1695 tr. Duc de Richelieu Compleat Statesman ii. vii. 115 By the Reduction of the price of the Rents constituted on the Hostel de Ville, six Millions.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 532 The King being now resolved to live on his revenue, without putting himself on a Parliament, he was forced on a great reduction of expence.
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 19 Not one shilling towards the reduction of our debt.
1793 J. Bentham Emancipate your Colonies in Wks. (1843) IV. 412 From competition among traders..[comes] reduction of prices.
1800 Naval Chron. 4 52 The objects of this invention are:..The great reduction in top-hamper, height, and size of masts.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People viii. §6. 526 The general opinion was in favour of a reduction of the power and wealth of the Church.
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 30 Mar. 1/4 The Boston typothetae today announced a reduction of $4 a week in the pay of journeymen printers, and $3 a week in the pay of journeywomen printers.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Plastic Surg. 21 416 In some cases the size of the tongue may require reduction especially after correction of prognathism.
1984 M. P. Devereux & C. P. Mayer Corporation Tax i. 8 Main elements of the package:..the gradual reduction of the corporation tax rate; and the abolition of national insurance surcharge.
2005 Time Out N.Y. 3 Mar. 41/2 A malady that contracts the blood vessels in the fingers and toes resulting in a reduction of blood supply.
b. The action or process of making a copy on a smaller scale. Also: a reduced copy of this kind; spec. a copy or image made by means of photography, microphotography, etc. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [noun] > reproducing on a smaller scale
reduction1728
Lilliputianizing1885
miniaturization1947
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [noun] > reproducing on a smaller scale > that which is
abstract1561
brief1563
scantling1576
miniaturea1586
compendium1602
compendiment1605
modelet1605
baby figure1609
breviary1609
modulet1610
microcosm1611
epitomea1616
compend1642
breviate1695
reduction1728
mini1978
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The grand use of the proportional Compasses is in the Reduction of Figures, &c. whence they are also called Compasses of Reduction.
1786 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) I. 536 It is as particular as the four-sheet maps from which it is taken, and I answer for the exactness of the reduction.
1857 Trewman's Exeter Flying Post 6 Aug. 3/4 T. G. Norris..exhibited several photographic reductions of brass rubbings.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iv. xxx. 256 The little faces beside her, almost exact reductions of her own.
1889 E. J. Wall Dict. Photogr. 158 Whereas in enlargements the greater distance is between lens and sensitive surface, in the case of reduction the greater distance must be between the lens and negative.
1947 A. O. R. Johnson & J. L. Daniels in P. I. Smith Pract. Plastics xiv. 191/2 The resulting impression can be either a reduction or an enlargement of the master.
1965 Focal Encycl. Photogr. II. 1255/1 Reduction in printing, in copying and graphic arts work applies to reproduction at a scale of less than 1:1 or same size.
1988 F. W. Zweifel Handbk. Biol. Illustr. i. 2 For generally best results a one-third reduction from the original size will clear and reduce imperfections without losing detail.
2004 Notes 61 231/1 Facsimiles,..shown in photographic reductions of roughly 50 percent of the originals, of some 141..items.
c. Cookery. A condensed sauce made by boiling a liquid to reduce and concentrate it; the action or process of reducing a liquid in this way.
ΚΠ
1815 L. E. Ude French Cook 194 Sautez your truffles and scollops,..and put them into a velouté, to which you have added a little reduction of truffles.
1844 T. Webster & F. Parkes Encycl. Domest. Econ. xiv. iii. 920 The reduction is prepared with trimmings of truffles put into and stewed in consommé till it becomes a glaze.
1852 F. Bishop Illustr. London Cookery Bk. Gloss. 408 Court or short, to stew, the reduction of a sauce until it becomes very thick.
1969 Times 3 Apr. 13/6 Heat gently until the vinegar has boiled away... This initial reduction gives a special flavour and sharpness to the final sauce.
1984 E. David Omelette & Glass of Wine 212 A tomato sauce can be..changed by two or three minutes more or less of reduction.
2004 Philadelphia June 216/2 Seared peppered tuna..flaunting a rosy-rare interior, served with a balsamic reduction and cheesy mashed potatoes with escarole.
d. A discount offered on a selling price; a price reduced by discount.trade reduction: see trade n. and adv. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > discount > [noun]
God's penny1340
rebate1478
rebatement1543
allowance1663
allowing1677
drawback1680
subtrahend1685
refraction1728
reduction1820
price cut1894
1820 Times 21 Feb. 1/3 (advt.) At a great reduction, the following goods will be sold.
1867 Edinb. Evening Courant 28 Jan. 2/2 (advt.) He will, to-day,..begin a clearing sale, at Large Reductions.
1891 Manitoba Daily Free Press 24 Mar. 3/6 (advt.) The season for hats is now upon us... See the reductions!
1906 Daily Chron. 30 May 3/3 This work..has been offered for sale..at a great reduction.
1989 Holiday Which? Jan. 41/1 This [sc. card] gives reductions of up to 50% on the second and any subsequent full price rail fares in 17 countries.
1996 Time Out 17 Jan. 36/2 Reductions on tailored menswear, including benchmade shoes at half price.
2002 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 10 Oct. c3 The remaining 10,000 seats in the upper deck are being sold at a reduction to minor football associations and schools.
e. Music. The transcription of a piece of instrumental or choral music for performance on a piano or other keyboard instrument, esp. for rehearsal purposes; an arrangement of this kind; the reduced score thus produced. Also: (the production of) a simplified transcription of any piece of music for purposes of study.piano reduction: see piano n.2 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > [noun] > reductions
pianoforte score1846
piano score1862
reduction1867
piano reduction1939
1867 Musical Times 12 450/2 Where the music is especially adapted for ‘family use’, we question whether a somewhat simpler reduction of the score would not have been more acceptable.
1879 Pall Mall Gaz. 28 Nov. 10/2 The pianoforte accompaniment..is not by any means so elaborate nor so complicated as the pianoforte reductions of Herr Wagner's works.
1926 Times 10 Dec. 12/2 The work, originally planned for violoncello with orchestra, no doubt suffers by the reduction of the orchestral part for piano.
1951 Music & Lett. 32 386 Festival Te Deum... Vocal score with organ reduction by Dr. C. S. Lang.
1973 L. Lockwood in A. Tyson Beethoven Stud. 118 (caption) Reduction of Sehnsucht, bars 3–6.
1979 Early Music 7 531/1 The..music examples..are offered in open score to avoid the congestion inevitable with reduction to short score.
2007 Toronto Star (Nexis) 2 Apr. b3 The piano reduction of Korngold's lush score was played indifferently.
f. Photography. The diminution of the density of a print or negative.local reduction: see local adj. and n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > photographic processes > [noun] > enlargement or reduction in size
enlargement1866
reduction1871
megatypy1902
photoreduction1967
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > photographic processes > [noun] > development > developing procedures
reduction1871
intensification1879
rehalogenization1889
rehalogenizing1889
tanning1899
1871 M. C. Lea Man. Photogr. (ed. 2) iii. iv. 176 If the negative wants very little reduction it will be prudent to use the solution still more dilute.
1902 A. Watkins Photography 93 Where a rapid plate (of poor quality) does not seem to give sufficient contrast before it fogs over, a knowledge of reduction and intensifying will often give a good negative.
1956 Focal Encycl. Photogr. 951/2 The object of reduction is to make a very dense negative easier to print, or to lighten undesirably black areas of a print.
1991 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Conservation 30 43 Other steps in the processing of collodion negatives often included intensification and occasionally reduction, which also affected the final image color.
g. Linguistics. The weakening or obscuring of a vowel; the replacement of one speech sound by another which requires less muscular effort to articulate. Cf. reduce v. 3e.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [noun] > types of > articulation of
rounding1833
labialism1869
labialization1869
obscuring1873
raising1874
unrounding1874
reduction1885
delabialization1907
r-colour1935
centralization1939
vowel-laxing1977
1866 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 8 337 The general reduction of the vowels in our unaccented syllables to insignificance and indistinctness.]
1885 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 16 60 The palatalization of ȝ in English, and its final reduction to i or y.
1909 O. Jespersen Mod. Eng. Gram. I. ix. 260 Weak /iu/ has in some words kept both sounds, though with an early reduction of /i/ to /j/.
1959 C. L. Wrenn Word & Symbol (1967) 39 Gerrans..shows the regular Cornish reduction of the final t to s.
1962 A. C. Gimson Introd. Pronunc. Eng. vii. 120 This reduction of unaccented vowels, typical of a stress-accent language such as English, has been a feature of the English sound system for over a thousand years.
2001 J. Bybee Phonol. & Lang. Use vi. 144 The vowel reduction and flapping of I dunno is comparable to reduction to schwa and flapping in many English words.
h. Biology. The separation of the members of each homologous pair of chromosomes into different daughter cells during meiosis, resulting in the halving of the chromosome number. Cf. postreduction n., prereduction n. 1.Earliest in reduction division n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [noun] > stages of mitosis or meiosis > reduction
reduction1891
reduction division1891
pseudoreduction1899
postreduction1905
prereduction1905
1891 Jrnl. Royal Microsc. Soc. 461 There is a ‘reduction-division’, for twelve chromosomes are found in each new cell.
1896 E. B. Wilson Cell v. 182 The process of reduction is very obviously a provision to hold constant the number of chromosomes characteristic of a species.
1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley Animal Biol. ii. 59 At division one whole chromosome of a pair is separated from the other. This process is called the reduction of the chromosomes, for owing to it, each of the two cells produced at this division possess only half of the ordinary number of chromosomes for the species.
1960 D. C. Braungart & R. Buddeke Introd. Animal Biol. (ed. 5) iii. 34 Both the sperm and the egg..have gone through the process of meiosis or reduction of their chromosome number before they unite.
2000 Jrnl. Cell Biol. 150 1228/1 The properties necessary for the reduction of chromosome number in meiosis are built into each chromosome.
i. U.S. slang. A programme for treating drug addiction by reducing or limiting drug use. Cf. Compounds 1b. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatment of specific diseases or conditions > [noun] > of drug addiction
reduction1914
cold turkey1921
detox1975
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 69 Reduction.., the reduction cure for a ‘habit’. Example: ‘The only sensible way of getting off is on the reduction.’
15. The translation of a text, etc., from one language to another; a text so translated. Frequently with into. Cf. reduce v. 20a. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > translation > [noun]
remeninga1382
translatinga1382
translationa1382
interpretation1382
interpretingc1384
reducing?a1425
traductiona1533
conversion1586
reddition1609
renderinga1653
rendition1653
transposition1653
transfusion1700
gloss1756
reduction1826
transc1877
machine-aided translation1966
1826 H. Kilham Jrnl. 4 Aug. (1837) xi. 312 I was informed a missionary was there, who had been engaged in the reduction of languages in the South Sea mission.
1866 Musical World 6 Jan. 9 Excuse the extreme looseness of the foregoing reduction into English (made, under exceptional difficulties, by one who is anything rather than an adept).
1895 H. Brett tr. E. Bormann Shakespeare-secret p. xiv The translator's labours have not been confined to the simple reduction of the original into English.
1900 H. M. Imbert-Terry in P. W. Ames Chaucer Memorial Lect. 38 The reduction into English of a poem of 22000 lines would have supplied..sufficient occupation for the pen of even such a ready writer as the monk of Bury.
16.
a. The process of explaining a phenomenon, behaviour, social or mental activity, etc., by reducing it to its component factors or to a simpler form; an explanation or simplification of this kind. Also: the process of ascribing a complex result to the operation of a few or one of its factors.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > theory of psychoanalysis > theories of Freud > reduction > [noun]
reduction1894
1894 Mind 3 148 Scientific explanation is reduction to law, to constant resemblances, and fails to give an account of the final differences, as also of the final resemblances.
1916 A. A. Brill tr. S. Freud Wit & its Relation to Unconsc. ii. 28 The briefest reduction of the meaning by which one could replace this joke would be..[etc.].
1927 W. M. Wheeler in Proc. 6th Internat. Congr. Philos., 1926 34 The reduction of these new properties to those of the parts in the sense of identification, and the finding of a causal determination also in this sense is impossible.
1950 H. Hartmann Ess. Ego Psychol. (1964) vi. 112 We may refer to such simplifications as ‘theories by reduction’. They see one specific phase..as the sole causative factor for a character type.
1960 R. F. C. Hull tr. C. G. Jung Gen. Aspects Dream Psychol. in Coll. Wks. VIII. 240 Obviously this reduction is quite unsatisfying from the scientific point of view... The discovery of a single antecedent is by no means sufficient.
1989 J. D. Sutherland Fairbairn's Journey ii. 15 He is against the reduction of the higher values in human culture to simple psychological origins.
2003 Musical Times Winter 56/1 It is, they say, the Enlightenment's reduction of everything to reason..that led to totalitarianism and the Holocaust.
b. Philosophy. In phenomenology: the process of reducing an object of consciousness or an idea to its pure essence through elimination of all reference to extraneous things or theoretical considerations, in particular by eliminating (or ‘bracketing’) all reference to the real world of material objects; an instance of this. Sometimes more specifically as eidetic reduction, transcendental reduction (see quot. 1943).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > existentialism > [noun] > phenomenology of Husserl
phenomenology1907
noema1914
noesis1914
reduction1914
protention1931
noetic1969
1914 Mind 23 590 He [sc. Husserl] deals in a most valuable section with the relation of consciousness to natural reality, with the province of pure consciousness, and with the phenomenological reductions.
1924 Monist 34 520 To carry out the ‘phenomenological reduction’, i.e., to isolate an object from its existential or systematic connections, is equivalent to considering it as it is originally given, without the distorting influences of ‘theory’.
1931 W. R. B. Gibson tr. E. Husserl Ideas 44 The corresponding Reduction which leads from the psychological phenomenon to the pure ‘essence’, or,..from factual (‘empirical’) to ‘essential’ universality, is the eidetic Reduction.
1943 M. Farber Found. Phenomenol. i. 20 The ‘reduction’ opens up a universal field for philosophical investigation which is free from all pre~judgements and assumptions, hence its crucial methodological importance. Husserl is careful to distinguish eidetic reduction (proceeding from fact to essence) from transcendental reduction, according to which the phenomena are characterized as ‘irreal’... The method of phenomenological reduction is applied in order to achieve the presuppositionless field of philosophy.
1966 A. Gurwitsch Stud. Phenomenol. & Psychol. v. 111 Performance of the transcendental without the eidetic reduction discloses the flow of ‘my’ transcendentally purified mental states in phenomenal time.
1998 B. Waldenfels in S. Critchley et al. Compan. Continental Philos. xxiii. 286 Phenomenological reduction here [sc. in Merleau-Ponty] takes on a linguistic shape itself, in that it breaks not only with the prejudice of a completed world but also with that of a completed language.
IV. After a corresponding sense of Spanish reducción (see etymology).
17. In parts of colonial South America: a village or settlement established by Spanish colonists or missionaries to accommodate the indigenous population in an environment where they could be converted to Christianity, and become assimilated into European culture. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > ethnicities > Indian of Central or South America > [noun] > Indians of South America > converted by Jesuits
reduction1712
society > faith > worship > preaching > proselytization > mission > [noun] > one susceptible to or converted by missionary > collectively
reduction1712
1712 W. Rogers Cruising Voy. 89 This is the way of living in those Cantons, which the Missionaries call Reductions, because, if you'll believe 'em, they have reduc'd them to Christianity by their Preaching.
1769 tr. P. de Charlevoix Hist. Paraguay I. v. 255 Philip IV..ordered, that the pensions allowed out of the royal treasury, for the support of a missionary in each reduction.
1822 R. Southey in Q. Rev. 26 286 The number of converted Indians..amounted to about 120,000 in thirty Reductions.
1881 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 649/1 Governing and civilizing the natives of Brazil and Paraguay in the missions and ‘reductions’.
1960 G. R. Cragg Church & Age of Reason (1970) 190 The Jesuits' experiment had its critics and its foes. In the early days the ‘reductions’ were exposed to direct attack from neighbouring districts controlled by the men of São Paulo.
2002 Américas (Nexis) July–Aug. The first written Guarani literature was created on the Jesuit reductions during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
reduction process n.
ΚΠ
1827 Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 27 455 I repeated the reduction process, and got a crust by the black flux.
1887 Proc. Royal Soc. 42 89 Bismuth may be readily employed as a vehicle or means of collecting gold and silver from their ores in reduction processes.
1939 E. A. Bessey Text-bk. Mycol. (new ed.) xi. 303 In the basidium the diploid nucleus undergoes two meiotic divisions to consummate the reduction process.
1995 D. M. P. Mingos Essent. Inorg. Chem. 1 (1997) 27 It is conventional to write all half-cell reactions as reduction processes.
reduction product n.
ΚΠ
1877 Harper's Mag. Mar. 624/1 Krusemann has studied the reduction-products of levulose.
1928 J. H. Yoe Photometric Chem. Anal. I. xxxi. 366 On treatment with sodium sulfite the silico- and phosphomolybdates give a blue reduction product.
1991 D. T. Sawyer Oxygen Chem. p. vii Today life must also have protective devices against dangerous reduction products from dioxygen, for example superoxide and hydrogen peroxide.
b. Applied to forms of treatment for drug addiction by reducing or limiting drug use; esp. in reduction cure.
ΚΠ
1889 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 2 501 The author discusses briefly the effect of morphine, and states his belief in the gradual reduction treatment.]
1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 69 Reduction.., the reduction cure for a ‘habit’.
1922 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 16 Apr. 26/4 Almost one-half of the book is devoted to a discussion of gradual withdrawal methods, reduction treatment of drug addictions.
1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie iii. 39 The ‘thirty-day cure’. This is not a reduction cure. They don't give any junk... All they offer the addict is thirty days' detention.
2004 Observer (Nexis) 20 June (Mag.) 31 I tried clinics, I tried Narcotics Anonymous, I tried therapy, reduction cures, exercise and, eventually, sheer white-knuckled denial.
C2. † reduction-improbation n. Scots Law Obsolete a form of rescissory action, in which it is suggested that a deed, writ, or other document is not genuine.
reduction compass n. = proportional compass n. (b) at proportional n. and adj. Compounds; also in plural in same sense; cf. reducing compass n. at reducing n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > drawing instruments > for enlarging or reducing
parallelogramc1656
pantograph1723
pantographer1750
reducing compass1778
tracer1812
eidograph1828
reducing machine1848
reduction compass1853
planigraph1877
tracing-instrument1877
1755 New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. IV. 2682/2 The great use of the proportional compasses is the reduction of figures, &c. whence they are called compasses of reduction.]
1853 Official Catal. N.-Y. Exhib. Industry All Nations 160 A case of mathematical instruments in silver, ditto in brass; a reduction compass with micrometer.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. II. 1903/1 Reduction-compasses, proportional dividers or whole-and-half dividers.
1968 Physis 10 307 The reduction compass was soon superseded by the proportional compass.
2005 W. Schäffner in H. Schramm et al. Collection, Laboratory, Theater 63 (caption) Jost Bürgi's Reduction Compass from Levinus Hulsius.
reduction division n. Biology the division of meiosis during which separation of homologous chromosomes occurs (see sense 14h); (also) the process of meiosis as a whole.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > [noun] > stages of mitosis or meiosis > reduction
reduction1891
reduction division1891
pseudoreduction1899
postreduction1905
prereduction1905
1891 Jrnl. Royal Microsc. Soc. 461 There is a ‘reduction-division’, for twelve chromosomes are found in each new cell.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 971 This is effected by the rare kind of cell-division which is called meiosis or reduction-division, in which the number of chromosomes is reduced by a half.
1971 D. J. Cove Genetics i. 7 This type of cell division whereby a diploid cell can give rise to haploid cells is called reduction division.
1997 G. S. Helfman et al. Diversity of Fishes xx. 352/2 Hybridogenetic females..produce haploid eggs that, during the reduction division of meiosis, keep maternal genes and discard paternal genes.
reduction gear n. Engineering a system of gearwheels in which the driven shaft rotates more slowly than the driving shaft.
ΚΠ
1883 J. V. Renchard U.S. Patent 273,158 4/2 If the pump is made large enough to insure the pumping and discharging of lubricant it will necessitate the use of reduction-gear [sic] in the way of ratchet mechanism to feed the lubricant in required quantity.
1987 E. H. J. Pallett Aircraft Electr. Syst. (ed. 3) x. 156/1 The starter motor..drives the engine through a clutch, pawl mechanism and reduction gear.
2001 Treasure Hunting Feb. 34/2 We managed to find two propeller blades, one with its reduction gear still attached.
reduction gearing n. Engineering gearing using a reduction gear.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > cog or gear > others
pinwheel1825
reducing gear1872
reduction gearing1891
slip-gear1897
hypoid1935
1891 E. Thomson & E. W. Rice U.S. Patent 457,036 2/2 An armature substantially filling the space inclosed by said poles and field-coils and geared to the axles through a single reduction-gearing.
1942 J. Liston Aircraft Engine Design viii. 146 The inherent tendency for the propeller efficiency to drop at high speeds can be offset by suitable reduction gearing.
1991 Ships Monthly Apr. 11/2 Corinthia's twin Pametrada turbines,..driving twin screws through double reduction gearing, have no problems maintaining the required service speed of 17–18 knots.
2007 Continental Modeller Aug. 520/2 A powerful motor with twin flywheels drives through cardan shafts and reduction gearing on each bogie.
ΚΠ
1754 J. Erskine Princ. Law Scotl. II. iv. i. 419 Rescissory actions are divided into actions of proper improbation. 2. Actions of reduction-improbation. 3. Actions of simple reduction.
a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) II. iv. i. §19 644 The most effectual method of setting aside deeds granted to one's prejudice, is by the action of reduction-improbation.
1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scotl. 485 Under the certification of an action of reduction-improbation, the deed, if not produced, will be held as false and forged.
1868 Act 31 & 32 Victoria c. 100 §17 It shall not be necessary to obtain the concurrence of Her Majesty's Advocate to any summons of reduction-improbation.
reduction negative n. Photography (chiefly Film) a negative made from a larger original.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > showing reversed light and shade
negative1841
neg1874
cloud negative1892
photonegative1941
reduction negative1945
1945 Jrnl. Soc. Motion Picture Engineers Apr. 290 This process [sc. reduction printing] is commonly used in making 16-mm negatives or prints from 35-mm originals. Film thus made is referred to as a reduction negative or reduction print, as the case may be.
1992 A. Slide Nitrate won't Wait xi. 156 United Artists..had made 16mm reduction negatives on the entire library as part of its television exhibition program.
reduction print n. Photography (chiefly Film) a print made from a larger original.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > photograph by process
tithonograph1842
platinotype1844
daguerreotype1849
crystallotype1852
catalysotype1853
black print1855
sun print1855
blueprint1857
ferrotype1857
tin-type1864
pyro-photograph1869
opalotype1873
gelatine picture1875
hellenotype1875
panotype1875
silver print1878
autophotograph1880
platinum print1881
bromide print1885
solar1889
solar print1889
shadowgraph1896
skiagraph1896
rotograph1899
autochrome1902
rayogram1932
reduction print1933
photogram1934
blow-up1945
Polaroid1953
opaque1959
bromide1967
1933 E. D. Goodwin U.S. Patent 1,921,918 2/1 Reduction prints may be made from standard movie film so as to be used in home machines.
1973 D. A. Spencer Focal Dict. Photogr. Technol. 420 The assembly is also used to make reduction prints—e.g. by projecting 35 mm film on to 16 mm raw stock in the camera.
1991 Film Q. Autumn 12/2 It seems unlikely that anyone would prefer a scratchy, inaudible reduction print made from a third generation negative to a video copy made carefully from an early generation source.
reduction printing n. Photography (chiefly Film) printing at a size reduced from that of the original.
ΚΠ
1923 D. C. Ellis & L. Thornborough Motion Pictures in Educ. xi. 217 Prints for school and similar use can be made by reduction printing from standard negative.
2002 Microelectronic Engin. 61–2 301 Ion projection lithography..uses electrostatic ion-optics for reduction printing of stencil mask patterns to wafer substrates.
reduction sentence n. Philosophy (esp. in logical positivism) a sentence giving conditions for the use or meaning of a concept which are less strict than those imposed by a definition.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > philosophy of language > meaning > [noun] > definition > sentence relating to
reduction sentence1936
1936 R. Carnap in Philos. Sci. 3 441 We shall call R1 and R2 reduction sentences for ‘Q3’ and ‘∼ Q3’ respectively.
1949 A. Pap Elem. Analyt. Philos. xii. 289 The dispositional predicate is said to be reducible, by means of the reduction-sentence, to non-dispositional predicates.
2000 R. H. Jones Reductionism ii. 46 The proposed reduction sentences were found not to replace the reduced scientific terms without a loss of content.
reduction works n. (a) a works for the reduction or smelting of metallic ore; (b) a municipal incinerator (rare).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places for working with specific materials > place for working with metal > [noun] > for reducing ore
reduction works1825
reducing works1860
1825 H. English Gen. Guide Companies working Foreign Mines 101 In the neighbourhood are various reduction works, the population of which alone mounts to from 9 to 10,000.
1872 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 26 During one month when all the reduction works were producing.
1894 G. M. Gould Illustr. Dict. Med. Reduction works, a cremating establishment for disposing of the filth and refuse matter of a city.
1987 Mining Mag. (Nexis) Aug. 107 At the Anaconda Reduction Works it is planned to begin the processing operation with 100 t[ons]/d[ay] expanding to 400 t/d.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2009; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.?a1425