re·coil  (rĭ-koil') 
intr.v.
re·coiled, re·coil·ing, re·coils
To spring back, as upon firing. To shrink back, as in fear or repugnance. To fall back; return: "Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent" (Arthur Conan Doyle).
n.
also (rē'koil')
The backward action of a firearm upon firing. The act or state of recoiling; reaction.
[Middle English recoilen, from Old French reculer : re-, re- + cul, buttocks (from Latin cūlus; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots).]
re·coil'er n. |
