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re⋅cip⋅ro⋅cal

[ri-sip-ruh-kuh

Use reciprocal in a Sentence

–adjective

1.	given or felt by each toward the other; mutual: reciprocal respect.

2.	given, performed, felt, etc., in return: reciprocal aid.

3.	corresponding; matching; complementary; equivalent: reciprocal privileges at other health clubs.

4.	Grammar. (of a pronoun or verb) expressing mutual relationship or action: “Each other” and “one another” are reciprocal pronouns.

5.	inversely related or proportional; opposite.

6.	Mathematics. noting expressions, relations, etc., involving reciprocals: a reciprocal function.

7.	Navigation. bearing in a direction 180° to a given direction; back.

–noun

8.	something that is reciprocal to something else; equivalent; counterpart; complement.

9.	Also called multiplicative inverse. Mathematics. the ratio of unity to a given quantity or expression; that by which the given quantity or expression is multiplied to produce unity: The reciprocal of x is 1/x.

Origin:
1560–70; < L reciproc(us) returning, reciprocal + -al ¹

Related forms:

re⋅cip⋅ro⋅cal⋅i⋅ty, re⋅cip⋅ro⋅cal⋅ness, noun

re⋅cip⋅ro⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. See mutual.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To reciprocal

re·cip·ro·cal (rĭ-sĭp'rə-kəl)

adj.

Concerning each of two or more persons or things.
Interchanged, given, or owed to each other: reciprocal agreements to abolish customs duties; a reciprocal invitation to lunch.
Performed, experienced, or felt by both sides: reciprocal respect.
Interchangeable; complementary: reciprocal electric outlets.
Grammar Expressing mutual action or relationship. Used of some verbs and compound pronouns.
Mathematics Of or relating to the reciprocal of a quantity.
Physiology Of or relating to a neuromuscular phenomenon in which the excitation of one group of muscles is accompanied by the inhibition of another.
Genetics Of or designating a pair of crosses in which the male or female parent in one cross is of the same genotype or phenotype as the complementary female or male parent in the other cross.

Something that is reciprocal to something else.
Mathematics A number related to another in such a way that when multiplied together their product is 1. For example, the reciprocal of 7 is ¹/₇ ; the reciprocal of ²/₃ is ³/₂ .

[From Latin reciprocus, alternating; see per¹ in Indo-European roots.]
re·cip'ro·cal'i·ty (-kāl'ĭ-tē), re·cip'ro·cal·ness (-kəl-nĭs) n., re·cip'ro·cal·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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Reciprocal

Re*cip"ro*cal\, a. [L. reciprocus; of unknown origin.]

1. Recurring in vicissitude; alternate.

2. Done by each to the other; interchanging or interchanged; given and received; due from each to each; mutual; as, reciprocal love; reciprocal duties.

Let our reciprocal vows be remembered. --Shak.

3. Mutually interchangeable.

These two rules will render a definition reciprocal with the thing defined. --I. Watts.

4. (Gram.) Reflexive; -- applied to pronouns and verbs, but sometimes limited to such pronouns as express mutual action.

5. (Math.) Used to denote different kinds of mutual relation; often with reference to the substitution of reciprocals for given quantities. See the Phrases below.

Reciprocal equation (Math.), one which remains unchanged in form when the reciprocal of the unknown quantity is substituted for that quantity.

Reciprocal figures (Geom.), two figures of the same kind (as triangles, parallelograms, prisms, etc.), so related that two sides of the one form the extremes of a proportion of which the means are the two corresponding sides of the other; in general, two figures so related that the first corresponds in some special way to the second, and the second corresponds in the same way to the first.

Reciprocal proportion (Math.), a proportion such that, of four terms taken in order, the first has to the second the same ratio which the fourth has to the third, or the first has to the second the same ratio which the reciprocal of the third has to the reciprocal of the fourth. Thus, 2:5: :20:8 form a reciprocal proportion, because 2:5: :1/20:1/8.

Reciprocal quantities (Math.), any two quantities which produce unity when multiplied together.

Reciprocal ratio (Math.), the ratio between the reciprocals of two quantities; as, the reciprocal ratio of 4 to 9 is that of 3/4 to 1/9.

Reciprocal terms (Logic), those terms which have the same signification, and, consequently, are convertible, and may be used for each other.

Syn: Mutual; alternate.

Usage: Reciprocal, Mutual. The distinctive idea of mutual is, that the parties unite by interchange in the same act; as, a mutual covenant; mutual affection, etc. The distinctive idea of reciprocal is, that one party acts by way of return or response to something previously done by the other party; as, a reciprocal kindness; reciprocal reproaches, etc. Love is reciprocal when the previous affection of one party has drawn forth the attachment of the other. To make it mutual in the strictest sense, the two parties should have fallen in love at the same time; but as the result is the same, the two words are here used interchangeably. The ebbing and flowing of the tide is a case where the action is reciprocal, but not mutual.

Reciprocal

Re*cip"ro*cal\, n. 1. That which is reciprocal to another thing.

Corruption is a reciprocal to generation. --Bacon.

2. (Arith. & Alg.) The quotient arising from dividing unity by any quantity; thus 3/4 is the reciprocal of 4; 1/(a + b) is the reciprocal of a + b. The reciprocal of a fraction is the fraction inverted, or the denominator divided by the numerator.

reciprocal

The number by which a given number must be multiplied to get a result of one. The reciprocal of one-half, for example, is two.

reciprocal

1570, from L. reciprocus "returning the same way, alternating," from pre-L. *reco-proco-, from *recus (from re- "back" + -cus, adjective formation) + *procus (from pro- "forward" + -cus, adjective formation). The verb reciprocate "to return, requite" is recorded from 1820.

Main Entry: re·cip·ro·cal
Pronunciation: ri-'si-pr&-k&l
Function: adjective
1 a : MUTUAL 2 b : BILATERAL reciprocal contract>
2 : characterized by correspondence or equivalence esp. in return or response with another of the same category reciprocal discovery of the names of the State's alibi rebuttal witnesses —Mauricio v. State, 652 North Eastern Reporter, Second Series 869 (1995)>; also : marked by such correspondence or equivalence between its own components reciprocal arrangement>
3 : marked by reciprocity between states —re·cip·ro·cal·ly adverb

Main Entry: re·cip·ro·cal
Pronunciation: ri-'sip-r&-k&l
Function: adjective
1 : inversely related
2 : of, constituting, or resulting from paired crosses in which the kind that supplies the male parent of the first cross supplies the female parent of the second cross and vice versa
3 : shared, felt, or shown by both sides

reciprocal re·cip·ro·cal (rĭ-sĭp'rə-kəl)
adj.

Of or relating to a neuromuscular phenomenon in which the excitation of one group of muscles is accompanied by the inhibition of another.
Of or being a pair of crosses in which the male parent in one cross is of the same genotype or phenotype as the female parent in the other cross.

reciprocal (rĭ-sĭp'rə-kəl) Pronunciation Key
Either of a pair of numbers whose product is 1. For example, the number 3 is the reciprocal of ¹/₃ .

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