v.
- suddenly spring back or flinch in fear, horror, or disgust.
▸feel such emotions at the thought of something.
- (of a gun) move abruptly backwards as a reaction on firing.
▸spring back through force of impact or elasticity.
-
(recoil on/upon)
(of an action) have an adverse consequence for (the originator).
n.
the action of recoiling.
Derivative
History
Recoil came into English from Old French reculer ‘move back’, and first meant ‘drive or force back’ or ‘retreat’. The -coil part comes from Latin culus, which means ‘buttocks, bottom’: this gave rise to the French word cul, the source of cul-de-sac (literally ‘bottom of a sack’) and culottes.
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