retort

Origin:
1590–1600; < Latin retortus (past participle of retorquēre to bend back), equivalent to re- re- + torqu(ēre) to twist, bend + -tus past participle suffix, with -qut- > -t-

Related forms

re·tort·er, noun

Synonyms
1. retaliate. 4. riposte, rejoinder, response. See answer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

Chemistry.

a vessel, commonly a glass bulb with a long neck bent downward, used for distilling or decomposing substances by heat.

a refractory chamber, generally cylindrically shaped, within which some substance, as ore or coal, is heated as part of a smelting or manufacturing process.

an airtight, usually cylindrical vessel of fire clay or iron, used in the destructive distillation chiefly of coal and wood in the manufacture of illuminating gas.

a sterilizer for food cans.

verb (used with object)

to sterilize food after it is sealed in a container, by steam or other heating methods.

Chemistry. to subject (shale, ore, etc.) to heat and possibly reduced pressure in order to produce fuel oil, metal, etc.

Origin:
1550–60; < Middle French retorte < Medieval Latin retorta, noun use of feminine of Latin retortus; see retort¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins

World English Dictionary

retort¹ (rɪˈtɔːt)

—vb
1.	(when tr, takes a clause as object) to utter (something) quickly, sharply, wittily, or angrily, in response
2.	to use (an argument) against its originator; turn the tables by saying (something)

—n
3.	a sharp, angry, or witty reply
4.	an argument used against its originator

[C16: from Latin retorquēre to twist back, from re- + torquēre to twist, wrench]

re'torter¹

—n

retort² (rɪˈtɔːt)

—n
1.	a glass vessel with a round bulb and long tapering neck that is bent down, used esp in a laboratory for distillation
2.	a vessel in which large quantities of material may be heated, esp one used for heating ores in the production of metals or heating coal to produce gas

—vb
3.	(tr) to heat in a retort

[C17: from French retorte, from Medieval Latin retorta, from Latin retorquēre to twist back; see retort¹]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

retort

c.1557, from L. retortus, pp. of retorquere "turn back," from re- "back" + torquere "to twist" (see thwart). The noun is 1600, from the verb.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

retort re·tort (rĭ-tôrt', rē'tôrt')
n.
A closed laboratory vessel with an outlet tube, used for distillation, sublimation, or decomposition by heat.

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

Science Dictionary

retort

(rĭ-tôrt', rē'-) Pronunciation Key
A glass laboratory vessel in the shape of a bulb with a long, downward-pointing outlet tube. It is used for distillation or decomposition by heat.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

retort

vessel used for distillation of substances that are placed inside and subjected to heat. The simple form of retort, used in some laboratories, is a glass or metal bulb having a long, curved spout through which the distillate may pass to enter a receiving vessel. The design dates back to the cucurbit (flask) used by medieval alchemists.

Learn more about retort with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

The encyclopedia's bosses retort that such concerns are overblown and that

taking advertising would dent its appeal to users.

The show began, as so many of the strongest works of art do, as a retort to

what had come before it.

The church can retort that its concern is with intrinsic right and wrong, not

with a mathematical calculus of effects.

From some of the new arrivals comes the retort that the natives are shiftless

and obsessed with past injustices.

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Matching Quote

"I will name you the degrees. The first, the Retort Courteous; the second, the Quip Modest; the third, the Reply Churlish; the fourth, the Reproof Valiant; the fifth, the Countercheck Quarrelsome; the sixth, the Lie with Circumstance; the seventh, the Lie Direct."

-Shakespeare