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Torsion

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Torsion
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tor⋅sion

  [tawr-shuhn]
Use Torsion in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act of twisting.
2. the state of being twisted.
3. Mechanics.
a. the twisting of a body by two equal and opposite torques.
b. the internal torque so produced.
4. Mathematics.
a. the degree of departure of a curve from a plane.
b. a number measuring this.
Origin:
1375–1425; 1535–45 for def. 1; late ME torcion wringing one's bowels < OF torsion < LL torsiōn- (s. of torsiō) torment, equiv. to tors(us) twisted (see torse ) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
tor⋅sion⋅al, adjective
tor⋅sion⋅al⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tor·sion   (tôr'shən)   
n.  

    1. The act of twisting or turning.

    2. The condition of being twisted or turned.

  2. The stress or deformation caused when one end of an object is twisted in one direction and the other end is held motionless or twisted in the opposite direction.


[Middle English torcion, wringing pain in the bowels, from Old French torsion, from Late Latin torsiō, torsiōn-, a wringing pain, variant of Latin tortiō, from tortus, past particple of torquēre, to twist; see torsade.]
tor'sion·al adj., tor'sion·al·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

torsion 
c.1425, "wringing pain in the bowels," from O.Fr. torsion (1314), from L.L. torsionem (nom. torsio) "a wringing or gripping," from L. tortionem (nom. tortio) "torture, torment," from tortus, pp. of torquere "to twist" (see thwart). Meaning "action or process of twisting as by opposing forces" is first recorded 1543.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: tor·sion
Pronunciation: 'tor-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the twisting of a bodily organ or part on its own axis torsion>
2 : the twisting or wrenching of a body by the exertion of forces tending to turn one end or part about a longitudinal axis while the other is held fast orturned in the opposite direction; also : the state of being twisted —tor·sion·al /'tor-shn&l, -sh&n-&l/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

torsion tor·sion (tôr'shən)
n.

  1. A twisting or rotation of a part on its long axis.

  2. Twisting of the cut end of an artery to arrest hemorrhage.

  3. Ocular rotation around the anteroposterior axis.

tor'sion·al adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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