reciprocaladj.n.
/rᵻˈsɪprəkl/, U.S. /rəˈsɪprək(ə)l/, /riˈsɪprək(ə)l/ A. adj.
I. General senses.† 4. Interchangeable, synonymous, equivalent in meaning or force; = convertible adj. 1a. Obsolete.
1.
a. Of the nature of, or relating to, a return (in kind); made, given, etc., in response; answering, corresponding.
ΚΠ
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 50 Thowe shalte not lose thy brother..for lacke to aunswere in reciprocal wil to him who..conceiles the argument of hys sorow.
1580 E. Spenser in E. Spenser & G. Harvey Three Proper & Wittie Lett. 56 I woulde rather I might yet see youre owne good selfe, and receiue a Reciprocall farewell from your owne sweete mouth.
1607 M. Drayton Legend Cromwel 23 And shew in how reciprocall a sort My thankes did with his curtesie agree.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 172 After that royalty sprung up, the influence thereof upon them exhaled..a reciprocall interest backe againe.
1711 Harley in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. IV. 266 This the Queen has done without any reciprocal obligation or promise from her Majesty to France.
1770 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. xxxviii. 83 He had a right to expect from them a reciprocal demonstration of firmness.
1810 P. B. Shelley Zastrozzi vi. 73 Though he could not feel reciprocal affection towards her, yet her kindness..called for his warmest, his sincerest gratitude.
1883 H. Drummond Nat. Law in Spiritual World (1884) Pref. 22 No science contributes to another without receiving a reciprocal benefit.
1933 Times 27 May 11/5 Dr Goebbel's visit will thus be the fourth German Ministerial visit paid to Italy..without a reciprocal interest being shown in Germany by an Italian statesman.
1989 D. Radcliffe Simply Barbara Bush ii. 42 The Bushes entertained their hosts with a Texas-style barbecue at a reciprocal dinner the next night.
b. Relating to, or of the nature of, a mutual or simultaneous exchange; given and received mutually; traded, exchanged.
ΚΠ
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 254 Let your reciprocall vowes bee remembred. View more context for this quotation
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. ix. 405 Leauing our reciprocall loues behind vs, wee diuided our bodies East and West.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 333 The highest Civilities..and reciprocal good Wishes all round.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 91. ⁋5 Ready..to elate each other with reciprocal applause.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xix. 134 After so many reciprocal injuries, Gallus had reason to fear and to distrust.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) II. vii. 138 Their relations were already embittered by many reciprocal acts of hostility.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 160 Barcelona and Cadiz..also entered into like alliances for reciprocal privileges.
1947 P. L. Harriman Dict. Psychol. 184 Interpersonal relationships, the reciprocal influences which persons exert upon one another in primary (face-to-face) social groups.
1996 Ann. Rep. Gen. Council of Bar 1995 13/2 By tradition, reciprocal hospitality is offered, in conjunction with solicitors, at the Opening of the Legal Year.
c. Of a person or thing: sent or given by each party to the other, esp. as a formal exchange.
ΚΠ
1624 T. Scott Boanerges sig. E Then followed a third booke of the Princes farewell, and reciprocall gifts bestowed betweene Spaine and vs.
1633 W. Prynne Histrio-mastix i. 20 Pagans, who Consecrated this day,..and sent reciprocall Newyeeres-gifts to their friends vpon it.
1641 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. F. Biondi Hist. Civil Warres Eng. I. iii. 142 Reciprocall Embassadors..had already accorded all differences with the Dolphin.
1716 M. Davies Athenæ Britannicæ II. 30 Some of King Henry the 8th's and Queen Anne Bolen's reciprocal letters were printed.
1783 Prelim. Art. Peace w. Spain viii. 21 The necessary orders shall be sent by each of the high Contracting parties, with reciprocal passports for the Ships.
1851 B. K. Peirce Eminent Dead 55 He returned thanks for their kindness and..pledged himself to be faithful in reciprocal letters.
1897 Times 18 Sept. 5/5 This incessant interchange of telegrams, these numerous reciprocal gifts, these repeated toasts..have no analogy in recorded history.
1919 Columbia Law Rev. 19 341 A joint and mutual will made in consideration of reciprocal gifts and devises pursuant to an agreement.
1992 D. de Coppet Understanding Rituals 102 The rituals of Christmas are, of course, hard to overlook... The mass media broadcast the triple messages of reciprocal presents, paid holidays, and family reunion for all.
2. Existing on both sides; felt or shared by both parties; mutual.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > correlation > [adjective] > mutual or reciprocal > shared between parties
reciprocal1578
mutual1600
dialogic1836
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 51v If the mother nourish the childe and the childe sucke the mother, that there be as it were a relacion and reciprecall order of affection.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue i. 37 I know there is a kind of reciprocall bond of duty each to the other, and may be broken of either side.
1652 Earl of Monmouth tr. G. Bentivoglio Hist. Relations Flanders 66 Spain and..Flanders..may be said to joyn in one common and reciprocall Government.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xi. iii. 114 The two Cousins began now to impart to each other their reciprocal Curiosity. View more context for this quotation
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 166. ⁋7 Kindness is generally reciprocal.
1785 J. Trusler Mod. Times III. 106 We were as happy as matrimony, reciprocal affection, and good circumstances could render us.
1804 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) III. 157 This treaty of general defensive alliance, for the reciprocal protection of their respective territories.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul II. ix. xxxix. 266 A reciprocal recognition of honest convictions.
1931 J. Gavorse Suetonius' Lives Twelve Caesars ii. 93 He demanded of his friends proofs of reciprocal attachment at their deaths as well as during their lives.
1994 30 Days in Church & in World No. 4. 5/1 However the level of conviction, that the bitter reciprocal and prejudicial distrust could be dispelled, had to be maintained.
3.
a. Moving backwards and forwards alternately; characterized by (a) movement of this type. Chiefly Mechanics in later use.In quot. ?1611: used as an epithet of Ocean, regarded as a stream encircling the earth and flowing back into itself (rendering ancient Greek ἀψόρροος back-flowing).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > [adjective] > alternating or reciprocating
reciprocal1594
reciprocating1656
reciprocatory1826
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. xiii. 86 Speech could not be without voyce, for the which God hath created many instruments..as namely..certaine back-running sinewes appointed therunto by reciprocal motions.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 400 Amid the reciprocall tides of the sea [L. reciprocos aestus], ebbing and flowing in their alternatiue turnes.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads 261 Eurynome, that to her father had Reciprocall Oceanus [Gk. ἀψορρόου Ὠκεανοῖο].
1645 J. Milton On University Carrier ii, in Poems 30 Obedient to the Moon he spent his date In cours reciprocal.
a1679 T. Hobbes Seven Philos. Probl. (1682) iv. 27 The reciprocal and contrary motions of the two pieces of wood.
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. II. vi. §5. 843 The reciprocal Tide arising from the four Moons [of Jupiter]..is various and uncertain.
1799 R. Kirwan Geol. Ess. x. 441 If the reciprocal undulations of the tides were equally powerful.
1820 W. Paley Nat. Theol. viii. 51 For the perfect use of the limb, two motions are wanted; a motion at the elbow, backward and forward, which is called a reciprocal motion; and a rotary motion.
1897 Amer. Anthropologist 10 115 A simple device at one end for converting alternating reciprocal motion into continuous and uniform rotary motion required to twist the rope.
1956 Mycologia 48 609 The rotary or swirling action has the advantage of reciprocal action over keeping fungi submerged.
1994 Amer. Antiq. 59 683 A reciprocal grinding motion consisting of back-and-forth passes with the handstone over the base stone.
b. Alternate, alternating. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > alternation > [adjective] > alternating
interchangeable1561
interchanginga1586
vicissitudinary1624
alternanta1638
reciprocalc1645
alternating1653
up and down1812
intercurrent1842
commutative1844
c1645 W. Atkins Relation of Journey (1994) 225 Wee in the cabbin were tossed like balls from side to side with reciprocall and perpetuall knocks and rebounds.
1667 R. Hooke in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 539 The Dog being kept alive by the Reciprocal blowing up of his Lungs with Bellowes, and they suffered to subside.
1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Alternity, reciprocal succession; vicissitude; turn; change of one thing for another; reciprocally.
1758 W. Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornwall 283 The pigeon (whose reciprocal contraction and dilation in those parts is well known).
1860 B. Taylor At Home & Abroad (1862) 82 Some [springs] are intermittently weak and strong,..others again have a double, reciprocal motion, like the sistole and diastole of the heart.
1959 Jrnl. Higher Ed. 30 345/1 Whoever would understand India's heart must not therefore despair at the reciprocal action of systole and diastole but must accept this phenomenon.
1998 M. Warner No Go Bogeyman (2000) x. 229 In the tropics of the Amazonian forest, many females sing duets with the males, sometimes in counterpoint, sometimes in reciprocal phrasing, antiphonically.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > [adjective] > equal in effect or equivalent
convertiblec1386
fellowa1393
equipollec1430
answerable1551
countervailable1576
equiparable1611
reciprocal1616
equiparant1625
equiponderant1629
equivalent1639
tantamount1641
equiparate1655
equipollent1664
equal1677
adequative1809
the mind > language > linguistics > semantics > synonymy > [adjective]
synonymous1610
synonymal1613
reciprocal1616
consignificanta1641
synonymical1645
1616 G. Hakewill Answere Treat. D. Carier ii. 117 In your construction a Puritan and a Caluinist are reciprocall.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy Democritus to Rdr. 41 Aristotle in his Ethickes holds,..to be wise and happie are reciprocall termes.
1681 R. L'Estrange tr. Cicero Offices (ed. 2) 139 Make Profit and Honesty Reciprocal.
1733 P. Shaw in tr. F. Bacon Philos. Wks. I. 574 Knowledge and Power are reciprocal.
5. Interacting with, referring to, or depending on each other mutually; interdependent; complementary; correlative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > correlation > [adjective]
redditivec1525
correlative1530
reciprocate?1532
responsive1604
reciprocal1617
collateral1659
equivalenta1661
responding1670
co-relative1761
relative1849
correlate1850
correlated1859
complementary1860
obverse1875
double of1876
complemental1882–3
dual1947
intercorrelational1970
1617 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Faire Quarrell iv. i. sig. 3 They [sc. wrestling and roaring] are reciprocall if you marke it, for as there is a great Roaring at Wrestling: so there is a kinde of wrestling and contention at Roaring.
1621 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. i. v. 18 He knowes not the condition of it, where with a reciprocall tye, pleasure and paine are still vnited.
1661 R. Boyle Some Consider. Style of Script. (1675) 75 The Books of Scripture illustrate and expound each other: Genesis and the Apocalypse are in some things reciprocal commentaries.
1718 Free-thinker No. 40. 2 Allegiance and Protection are Reciprocal in all Countries.
1766 T. Amory Life John Buncle II. 271 As protection and obedience are reciprocal, and cannot subsist, the one without the other, it must be a crime in the people not to honour..the royal authority.
1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 323 The world and man are just reciprocal Yet contrary.
1886 Times 20 May 9/6 All Liberals who prefer their country to their party, will adopt a reciprocal course, and only support candidates who upon this question will be on our side.
1933 Mind 42 41 Each postulate functions in limiting the ranges of the variables in such a manner that any change is one postulate..involves a reciprocal change in its other parts.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 771/2 There is a very intricate and reciprocal relationship between motility and the psychic state of the individual.
1989 K. J. Tarbuck Bukharin's Theory of Equilibrium (BNC) 95 A series of reciprocal acts which reinforce each other, and so create a multiplier effect in a downward direction.
6. Opposed or opposing, contrary; inversely corresponding, converse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > correlation > [adjective] > mutual or reciprocal
evena1425
interchangeablec1450
relativea1500
reciprocativea1504
mutual1513
reciproque?1533
reciprocous1567
requiteda1586
intermutual1595
alternate1600
commutual1604
vicissitudinary1629
reciprocal1632
reflexivea1635
reciprocated1663
related1671
mutuous1683
turn about1802
interdependent1817
interrelated1827
reciprocating1827
reciprocate1833
transmutuala1834
reflective1839
interpendent1855
interradiating1858
two-way1950
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 488 With shrew'd Acerbious speech, you Anathematize My will Reciprocall to yours.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xxv. 150 Relative terms, that have others answering them, with a reciprocal intimation, as Father, and Son,..Cause, and Effect.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xv. 103 I first thought it [sc. a chamois] was a man... It evidently made the reciprocal mistake to my own.
1945 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 45 444 Spasticity is defined as essentially simultaneous contraction of reciprocal muscle groups, with hypertonicity.
1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose ii. 57 I..flew out to sea..on the reciprocal course, and then turned in again and flew towards the coast on 110°.
1994 Child Developm. 64 1036 Responses from the stretched muscle and from the reciprocal or antagonist muscle.
II. Technical senses.
7.
a. Chiefly Mathematics. Inversely correspondent or complementary; esp. (a) (of a function, expression, etc.) so related to another that their product is unity; (b) (of a curve) such that the polar of each point with respect to a particular conic is tangential to another given curve; (of a polygon) such that the polar of each point is a side of another given polygon. law of reciprocal proportions n. Chemistry a law stating that a compound of two chemical elements will contain them in the relative proportions in which they combine individually with a third element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > [adjective] > of geometrical relation
reciprocal1570
regular1570
projectivea1652
semi-conjugate axis1743
homographic1859
symmetric1860
confocal1867
correlative1881
involutorial1885
conjugate1902
antisymmetrical1913
homoeomorphic1918
homotopic1918
isometric1952
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > describing relationships between quantities > inverse
reciprocal1570
reverse1594
inverse proportion1660
inverted1678
conjugate1680
conjugated1798
1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. vi. f. 153v Reciprocall figures are those, when the termes of proportion are both antecedentes and consequentes in either figure.
1673 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 8 6045 The Vibrations of two cords of an equal thickness and tension are in a reciprocal proportion of the Length of the cords.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 29/1 Reciprocal, in mathematics, is applied to quantities which multiplied together produce unity.
1848 Solutions Cambr. Senate-Ho. Problems (1851) 119 This theorem may also be proved by the method of Reciprocal Polars.
1857 Q. Jrnl. Math. 7 On a theorem relating to reciprocal triangles.
1861 N. M. Ferrers Elem. Treat. Trilinear Co-ordinates vi. 108 Hence, if the Conic..be a parabola, the point (a, b, c) must lie in the reciprocal Conic.
1874 Notices Proc. Royal Inst. Great Brit. 7 184 The numbers denoting the two were always inverse or reciprocal to each other.
1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 468/1 The proportions in which two elements combine with a third also represent the proportions in which..they will themselves combine... This is known as the law of combination in reciprocal proportions.
1947 S. A. Stigant Mod. Electr. Engin. Math. iv. 72 An Inverse Matrix is a reciprocal matrix which, when used as a multiplier, has the same effect as though the multiplicand was divided by the matrix from which the inverse is derived.
1961 C. C. T. Baker Dict. Math. 255 Reciprocal cones. Each of the cones a2x2 + b2y2 − c2z2 = 0 and x2/ a2 + y2/ b2 − z2/ c2 = 0 is the reciprocal of the other, because the relation between them is that the generating lines of each cone are parallel to the normals of the other.
1987 M. H. Freemantle Chem. in Action (BNC) 124 The law of reciprocal proportions tells us to expect that carbon and hydrogen combine in the weight ratio, 12:4.
1992 Treasure Hunting (BNC) Apr. 56 Once again the formula was applied giving a slope value of 0.5327706575. Reciprocal tan gives the angle as 28.047 degrees.
b. Mathematics. Based on an inverse relationship. Chiefly in certain compounds (see reciprocal equation n., reciprocal proportion n., reciprocal ratio n., reciprocal spiral n. at Compounds).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > describing relationships between quantities > inverse > based upon inverse relationship
reciprocal1656
1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. iii. xxiii. 261 If two Ponderants have their Moments and Distances from the Center of the Scale in reciprocal proportion; they are equally poised.
1743 E. Stone New Math. Dict. (ed. 2) at Densities The Densities of any two Bodies are in a Ratio compounded of the direct Ratio of their Quantities of Matter, and the reciprocal Ratio of their Bulks.
1823 J. Mitchell Dict. Math. & Physical Sci. 411 Reciprocal equations are those which contain several pairs of roots, which are the reciprocal of each other.
1933 Amer. Math. Monthly 40 598 This property is, of course, the same as that of the reciprocal spiral.
2006 Vaccine 24 3220/1 The geometric mean titre of each type was performed on a logarithmic (base 10) scale from the reciprocal ratio of the antibody titre levels.
c. Physics. Prefixed to the name of a standard unit to form the name of a unit in which quantities measured are the reciprocals of quantities measured in the standard unit, as reciprocal centimetre, reciprocal second. Also: prefixed to the name of a quantity to form the name of the reciprocal of that quantity, as reciprocal mass, reciprocal temperature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > [adjective] > serving as a unit of measurement > reciprocal (of units)
reciprocal1902
1902 Proc. Royal Soc. 70 82 The following numbers expressed in reciprocal ohms represent the mean of the author's results on the specific conductivity of solutions of oxy-hæmoglobin.
1933 Jrnl. Optical Soc. Amer. 23 41 It is proposed that reciprocal temperature..be adopted as a conventional parameter for specifying the chromaticity of incandescent illuminants.
1934 H. E. White Introd. Atomic Spectra i. 6 Wave numbers..are units with the dimensions of reciprocal centimeters, abbreviated cm−1.
1940 G. H. J. Adlam & L. S. Price Higher School Certificate Inorg. Chem. (ed. 2) xvii. 117 Specific conductivity is expressed in reciprocal ohms or mhos.
1960 A. D. Cross Introd. Pract. Infra-red Spectrosc. i. 2 The true unit of frequency (ν) is given in reciprocal seconds (sec−1).
1969 Jrnl. Brit. Astron. Assoc. 80 14 The orbit of Neptune has always given trouble to students of celestial mechanics. Newcomb used observations of 1795 and 1846–1896 in his theory, coupled with a value for the reciprocal mass of 360 000.
1989 P. Horowitz & W. Hill Art of Electronics (ed. 2) i. 7/1 Engineers are fond of defining reciprocal units.
2001 R. W. Cahn Coming of Materials Sci. iv. 171 It was discovered that some plots of the logarithm of diffusion coefficients against reciprocal temperature were curved.
8. Logic. Of a proposition, etc.: = convertible adj. 1b. Cf. reciprocating adj. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical proposition > conversion of a proposition > [adjective] > convertible or inconvertible
reciprocal1588
convertible1609
conversiblea1660
inconvertible1847
reciprocating1850
1588 A. Fraunce Lawiers Logike ii. xiv. f. 111v Wee are perswaded foolishly that the consequution is reciprocall, and that the putting downe of the one bringeth in of necessitie the other, and contrarily.
1697 tr. F. Burgersdijck Monitio Logica i. xxxi. 123 Terms are said to be Reciprocal, when there may be a Conversion of the Predicate into the Place of the Subject, and on the contrary.
1725 I. Watts Logick ii. ii. §3 These are the Propositions which are properly convertible, and they are called reciprocal Propositions.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Theorem A Reciprocal Theorem, is one whose Converse is true.
1837 S. E. Parker Logic ii. iii. 94 The proposition, three times three are nine, is the same as nine are three times three: these therefore are reciprocal propositions.
1880 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 3 20 Certain immediate inferences place the great part in formal logic. Some of these will not be reciprocal inferences or logical equations, but the most important of them will have that character.
1904 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 5 295 Similarly for the reciprocal proposition..[etc.].
1994 Limnol. & Oceanogr. 39 1692/2 The increase in reflectance due to the presence of a bottom can be interpreted in terms of depth only if the albedo is known; the reciprocal proposition is equally true: an inaccurate knowledge of A results in an incorrect estimate of H.
9. Grammar and Linguistics.
a. Of a linguistic unit, esp. a verb: = reflexive adj. 5. Now disused.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [adjective] > reflexive
reciprocal1611
reflexive1677
reflective1716
reflected1719
reflex1810
1611 J. Florio Rules Ital. Tongue in Queen Anna's New World of Words 631 It [sc. si] makes the Verbe to which it is affixed to be sometimes directly Actiue..and other times Passiue or Reciprocall.
1655 W. Gouge & T. Gouge Learned Comm. Hebrewes 218 This reciprocall Pronoun, himself, hath reference to Christs eminency.
1766 H. Giral del Pino New Spanish Gram. 171 Estarse, reciprocal, signifies to stay long.
1797 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 50/2 The word self subjoined to a personal pronoun forms also the reciprocal pronoun.
1801 W. Dupré Lexicographia-neologica Gallica 226 Se pronouncer,..to pronounce or declare one's self... Of late this reciprocal verb has greatly obtained in the sense of openly declaring for or against any person or thing.
1837 G. Phillips Elem. Syriac Gram. 114 The ordinary method of expressing a reciprocal or reflexive sense.
1879 C. T. Lewis & C. Short Lat. Dict. at Reciprocus A reciprocal pronoun, as sibi, se.
b. Of a linguistic unit, esp. a pronoun: expressing mutual action.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > other parts of speech > [adjective] > correlative
redditive1659
reciprocal1728
correlative1871
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Abbe de Dangeau, defines Reciprocal Verbs to be those whose Nominative is Plural, and denotes Persons acting mutually on one another.
1844 R. G. Latham in Proc. Philol. Soc. 1 232 (heading) On the Reciprocal Pronouns, and on the Reciprocal Power of the Reflective Verb.
1872 R. Morris Hist. Outl. Eng. Accidence 150 One another, each other, are sometimes called reciprocal pronouns.
1932 Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 16 403 The distinction between pronominal, reflexive, and reciprocal verbs is hardly necessary for the student; the reciprocal verb can be treated as an alternative translation of the reflexive verb.
1988 E. Steiner et al. in E. Steiner et al. From Syntax to Semantics iii. 75 Reciprocation can be realized by the reciprocal pronoun miteinander.
1992 W. P. Lehmann in C. Blank Lang. & Civilization I. 141 In the earlier verb system, the middle had functions subsequently expressed by reflexive and reciprocal pronouns and by pronominal adjectives.
10. Prosody. Designating a verse that reads the same backwards as forwards; recurrent. historical in later use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [adjective] > relating to or consisting of lines > palindromic
Sotadical1610
retrograde1653
recurrent1706
reciprocal1728
Sotadean1774
Sotadic?a1814
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Reciprocal, in Poetry, is applied to Verses which run the same both backwards and forwards; call'd also Recurrents.
1751 R. O. Cambridge Scribleriad ii. 16 (note) Reciprocal verses, (also called Retrograde and Recurrents) give the same words whether read backwords or forwards.
1861 All Year Round 7 Sept. 574/1 The following is a specimen of an English reciprocal verse by the poet Gascoigne. Lewd did I live, evil did I dwel.
1867 Galaxy June 171 Here are two palindromes or reciprocal verses, quoted by Sidoneus Apollinaris.
1993 SubStance 22 303 The protean verse was considered in late Antiquity to be a variation of the ‘reciprocal’ verse.
B. n.† 2. A person who is sent back. Obsolete. rare.
1. Something which corresponds in some way to another; a thing offered in return for another, esp. one which is corresponding or equivalent. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > correlation > [noun] > mutuality or reciprocity > reciprocal thing
reciproque1536
reciprocal1570
counterchange1586
1570 Queen Elizabeth I Let. 23 Feb. in D. Digges Compl. Ambassador (1655) 12 Offering to deliver unto her the reciprocal of our part under our Great-Seal.
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII (1876) (modernized text) 205 After he had received the King of Castile into the fraternity of the Garter, and for a reciprocal had his son the prince admitted to the order of the Golden Fleece.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §329 Corruption is a Reciprocall to Generation.
1796 C. Hutton Math. & Philos. Dict. (at cited word) The reciprocals of Harmonicals are arithmeticals.
1852 J. Mulcahy Princ. Mod. Geom. 37 By means of the theory of polars, every Proposition..leads immediately to another, called its reciprocal.
1885 J. Martineau Types Ethical Theory (1886) II. i. i. 31 The two cognitions are, therefore, independent reciprocals.
1927 A. Kocourek Jural Relations 431 (Gloss.) Disability, a special variety of ligation; the reciprocal of Duty; the lack of authority to project a positive or negative act against another. Its correlative is Immunity.
1976 J. Vaizey in F. Zweig New Acquisitive Society 7 What he is writing about is the end of the old working class and the reciprocal of this—that is, the end of the old middle class.
ΚΠ
?1624 G. Chapman tr. Hymn to Apollo in tr. Crowne Homers Wks. 45 No more Yee must be made, your owne Reciprocalls [Gk. ὑπότροποι] To your lou'd Cittie.
3. Grammar and Linguistics. A linguistic unit expressing mutual action or a mutual relationship; (formerly also) = reflexive n. 3 (now disused).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > verb > [noun] > reflexive verb
mean1530
reciprocal1635
reflexive1867
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > other grammatical categories or concepts > [noun] > that which expresses other concept or relation
adversativea1504
concessive1651
honorific1778
reverential1845
pejorative1882
deliberative1887
reciprocal1961
evidentiality1980
1635 T. Jackson Humiliation Sonne of God iii. xviii. 205 Many other Verbs in this forme, to wit, in Niphal bee rather equivalent to actives, then truely actives, neuterpassives, or reciprocals.
1656 H. Hammond Wks. (1684) II. 70 There is no such thing in the Greek language, as the variation of frequentative, transitive, and reciprocal.
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (lxxvi. 5 Annot.) 376/2 The reciprocal from [šll] prædatus est.
1766 H. Giral del Pino New Spanish Gram. 177 Verbs Passive, and the greatest part of the Reciprocals, require the Ablative.
1800 G. H. Noehden German Gram. i. 189 The German language differs from the English, where the reciprocals are composed of the possessive pronouns and the termination self.
1851 G. Brown Gram. of Eng. Gram. iv. 263 Each other and one another, when used in conjunction, may be termed reciprocals; as they are employed to express a reciprocal action.
1961 R. B. Long Sentence & its Parts xvi. 357 Reciprocals can refer only to plural nouns, pronouns, or nounal units; reflexives can refer to singulars as well.
1965 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 10 175 Especially reflexives, reciprocals, iteratives, passives, and the Eyak progressive almost always take the vocalic forms.
1992 W. P. Lehmann in C. Blank Lang. & Civilization I. 141 Quechua uses verbal suffixes to make reflexives and reciprocals.
4. Mathematics.
a. A function, expression, etc., so related to another that their product is unity; an inverse. Cf. sense A. 7a(a).
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the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > with inverse relationship to another
reciprocala1703
a1703 R. Hooke Lect. Navigation & Astron. in Posthumous Wks. (1705) 527 I have proceeded to shew how any line given may be divided into an infinite Series of Reciprocals to a Series in Arithmetical Progression.
1730 Philos. Trans. 1729–30 (Royal Soc.) 36 248 Multiplying therefore this Number by the Reciprocal of the Cube Root of 24, [etc.].
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 29/1 Likewise 1/ x is said to be the reciprocal of x, which is again the reciprocal of 1/ x.
1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics xvii. 151 The radius O a of the ellipse will be what is called the reciprocal of the index of refraction at a.
1865 W. T. Brande & G. W. Cox Dict. Sci., Lit. & Art (new ed.) I. 606/1 The reciprocal of the radius of a circle is a measure of its curvature.
1947 S. A. Stigant Mod. Electr. Engin. Math. iii. 43 Division by a determinant is carried out by multiplying by the reciprocal of the determinant.
1990 Brit. Jrnl. Photogr. 19 July 14/4 A shutter speed that is at least the reciprocal of the lens' focal length.
2002 Yachting World Feb. 103/1 Subtracting 90 from the bearing of the true wind direction..is not that tricky, but calculating the reciprocal of 284° in my head is challenging.
Categories »
b. polar reciprocal: see polar adj. and n. Compounds.
5. Genetics. = reciprocal cross n. at Compounds.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > genetic activity > heredity or hereditary descent > [noun] > cross-breeding or hybridism > hybrid or cross
mongrel1558
hybrid1601
centaur1606
mulatto1664
half-strain1673
cross1761
cross-breed1774
first cross1793
double-cross1810
quadroon1811
intercross1859
outcross1882
reciprocal1901
filial generation1902
monohybrid1902
vicinist1905
first filial (or F₁) generation1909
polyhybrid1910
back-cross1919
second filial (or F₂) generation1938
1901 Science 8 Mar. 374/1 Two crosses and their reciprocals largely went to closure of the blastopore with the main axis of the embryo apparently normally formed.
1948 H. P. Riley Genetics & Cytogenetics vi. 88 The cross curved × wild type is known technically as the reciprocal of the cross wild type × curved.
2007 Field Crops Res. 101 63/2 The susceptible genotype was crossed to each of the four resistant parents with reciprocals to produce eight F1 populations.
Compounds
reciprocal altruism n. Biology behaviour that benefits another unrelated organism, carried out in the expectation of its being reciprocated; the theory holding that behaviour of this type has evolved because is likely to increase the chances of survival or reproductive success for the apparently altruistic organism.
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1971 R. Trivers in Q. Rev. Biol. 46 42/2 Clearly, what matters for the evolution of reciprocal altruism is that the same two individuals interact repeatedly.
1986 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 9 Nov. 40 Mutual dependency may have contributed, in cetaceans and in humans, to higher intelligence and produced individuals that practice sophisticated reciprocal altruism.
2006 R. Dawkins God Delusion 216 The other main type of altruism for which we have a well-worked out Darwinian rationale is reciprocal altruism (‘You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours’).
reciprocal assimilation n. Phonetics assimilation in which two sounds mutually affect each other.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > sound changes > [noun] > assimilation
accommodation1841
assimilation1850
regressive assimilation?1862
progressive assimilation1872
reciprocal assimilation1885
1885 Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 6 18 The Mdl. E. diphthong ai has been reduced in Mdn. E. to the sound of e,..a process due to a reciprocal assimilation of the two elements forming that diphthong.
1972 R. R. K. Hartmann & F. C. Stork Dict. Lang. & Linguistics 21/2 If two sounds influence each other mutually the term reciprocal assimilation (alternative term: coalescent assimilation) is used.
2003 B. Collings & I. M. Mees Pract. Phonetics & Phonology 106 The plosives /t d/ merge regularly with you and your in a process of reciprocal assimilation of place and manner. The fricatives /s z/ have similar reciprocal assimilation with any word-initial /j/:.
reciprocal course n. a route precisely opposite to another one embarked upon, or otherwise specified.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > [noun] > opposite or reciprocal
counter-course1601
reciprocal course1946
1946 Happy Landings (Air Ministry) July 5/3 The immediate action is to turn on the reciprocal course.
1987 New Yorker 9 Feb. 66/2 The boat was finally turned around a hundred and eighty degrees and powered back on a reciprocal course.
2000 Canoeist Apr. 38/1 As the operator on the patrol boat changed the scale on his radar screen, the submarine turned on a reciprocal course that would take her past the estuary.
reciprocal cross n. Genetics either of a pair of crosses in which the male parent in one cross is of the same kind as the female parent in the other, and vice versa; a cross which corresponds to another in this way.
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1859 C. Darwin Origin of Species viii. 258 By a reciprocal cross between two species, I mean the case, for instance, of a stallion-horse being first crossed with a female-ass, and then a male-ass with a mare.
1948 H. P. Riley Genetics & Cytogenetics vii. 96 When genes are in autosomes reciprocal crosses normally give identical results, but when genes located in the X chromosome are dealt with, the results of reciprocal crosses are different.
2006 Trends Plant Sci. 11 472/1 Hybrid plants produced from a reciprocal cross, generally resemble each other closely.
reciprocal defence n. Fortification a type of flanking defence found in permanent fortifications.
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1759 T. M. Molyneux Conjunct Exped. ii. vii. 186 When several Bastions are constructed at proper Distances they form a reciprocal Defence to one another.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) (at cited word) The enemy may be kept under fire from his first appearance within range of the heaviest guns to the moment even of his arrival at the crest of the defender's works, a condition which necessarily leads to the introduction of reciprocal or flanking defence.
1989 N. Miller Renaissance Bologna ii. ii. 84 In 1260, a tower ca. 39 m. high was built between the two palaces for purposes of connection and reciprocal defense.
reciprocal equation n. Mathematics (originally) an equation whose roots can be divided into pairs of numbers, each the reciprocal of the other; (equivalently) an equation which is unchanged if the variable is replaced by its reciprocal (now rare); (in later use) an equation involving a reciprocal.
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1823 J. Mitchell Dict. Math. & Physical Sci. 411 Reciprocal equations are those which contain several pairs of roots, which are the reciprocal of each other.
1885 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 8 78 Quintics ‘solvable’ by peculiar methods may be brought under the general theory now presented. Reciprocal equations form a class of such quintics.
1932 Amer. Math. Monthly 39 415 (heading) Real roots of a class of reciprocal equations.
1961 Internat. Jrnl. Appl. Radiation & Isotopes. 10 28/1 For this infinitely thin region..it is not possible to distinguish with accuracy between the exponential and the reciprocal equations.
2006 Forest Ecol. & Managem. 228 92/2 The original form of reciprocal equation was given as 1/ω = Aρ + B, where ω and ρ are mean plant weight and density in plants per unit area.
reciprocal hybrid n. Genetics a hybrid resulting from a reciprocal cross.
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1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) 917 According to Gärthner, the hybrid Nicotiana paniculato-rustica is more fertile than the reciprocal hybrid.
1994 Heredity 73 518 Two Silene species, S. alba and S. dioica, and their reciprocal hybrids were used to investigate the inheritance of sex ratio.
reciprocal inhibition n. (a) Physiology inhibition of a physiological activity, esp. the contraction of a muscle, by the action of an antagonist; cf. reciprocal innervation n.; (b) Psychology and Psychiatry a type of behaviour therapy used esp. in the treatment of phobias and anxiety disorders, involving the evoking of physiological responses considered incompatible with anxiety, usually by muscular relaxation techniques, in combination with controlled exposure to anxiety-provoking stimuli.
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1892 Mind 1 157 In the case of non-identical images there is an alternative and reciprocal inhibition which gives the resulting image its variable character.
1954 AMA Arch. Neurol. Psychiatry 72 205 (title) Reciprocal inhibition as the main basis of psychotherapeutic effects.
1977 G. H. Sage Introd. Motor Behaviour (ed. 2) viii. 157 The flexion reflex consists of a contraction of the flexor muscles while reciprocal connections with the antagonistic extensor muscles cause reciprocal inhibition.
2006 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) July 34/1 Learn the principle of ‘reciprocal inhibition’, which simply put, means you can't be anxious when your body is relaxed.
reciprocal innervation n. Physiology an arrangement of nerve supply as a result of which the contraction of one muscle or muscle group is accompanied by simultaneous relaxation of an antagonistic muscle or muscle group.
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the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > reception or transmission of impulses
reflection1836
irradiation1847
conduction1855
diffusion1859
projection1872
conductivity1881
fusion1892
facilitation1894
reciprocal innervation1896
chemoreception1901
photoreception1902
neurotropism1905
proprioception1906
cheirokinaesthesia1913
schema1920
recruitment1923
conductance1926
volley1928
rectification1941
supersensitivity1949
mechanoreception1958
neurotransmission1961
electroreception1963
phototransduction1972
somatotopy1976
1896 Proc. Royal Soc. 60 414 The observations..do actually extend this kind of reciprocal innervation to the muscles of antagonistic position acting above certain joints of the limbs.
1942 Gray's Anat. (ed. 28) 942 All the fundamental reflexes of posture.., the reciprocal innervation of antagonists, and the elementary combination of synergists, can still occur without the cerebellum.
1996 Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. 211 163 Nonvascular smooth muscle, such as the iris sphincter, receives double reciprocal innervation.
reciprocal proportion n. (a) Mathematics the relationship between two sequences of three numbers in geometrical progression whose middle terms are equal, the ratio of the two first terms being the reciprocal of the ratio of the two last terms (see the note below; now rare); (also) proportion in which one quantity varies inversely as the other; inverse proportion; (b) Chemistry see law of reciprocal proportions n. at sense A. 7a.E.g. the two sequences 8, 24, 72 and 12, 24, 48 are in reciprocal proportion: 8:12 is in the ratio 2:3, and 72:48 is in the ratio 3:2.
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1656 tr. T. Hobbes Elements Philos. ii. xiii. 126 If there be three continual Proportionals, and again, three other continual Proportionals which have the same Middle Term, their Extremes will be in reciprocal Proportion.
1709 J. Ward Introd. Math. i. vii. §2 If More require Less, or Less require More..then the Terms will be in Reciprocal Proportion.
1734 tr. P. L. M. de Maupertuis Diss. Cœlestial Bodies 21 in J. Keill Exam. Burnet's Theory of Earth (ed. 2) As each Planet describes equal Area's in equal Times, it follows that the Beds of the Vortex Matter have their Velocities in a reciprocal Proportion to their distances from the Center.
1902 Math. Gaz. 2 172 In the ordinary school course, reciprocal proportion should be dropped, and compounding replaced by multiplying.
2001 Med. Engin. & Physics 23 102/2 This led to a modelling law for the frequency to vary in reciprocal proportion to the square of the geometrical scaling factor.
reciprocal ratio n. Mathematics †(a) the ratio of the reciprocals of two quantities, equal to the reciprocal of the ratio of the quantities themselves (obsolete); (b) a ratio that is the reciprocal of a given ratio.
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1699 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 21 353 Let there be two Proportions a, b : : e, l and b, c : : d, e, each having the same Terms b and e which consitute a Reciprocal Ratio, this Ratio we call Common, because it is Common to both Proportions.
1743 E. Stone New Math. Dict. (ed. 2) at Densities The Densities of any two Bodies are in a Ratio compounded of the direct Ratio of their Quantities of Matter, and the reciprocal Ratio of their Bulks.
1823 J. Mitchell Dict. Math. & Physical Sci. 412 Reciprocal ratio is the ratio of the reciprocals of two quantities.
1955 Biometrics 11 478 The relative efficiency of two methods of conducting a bio-assay is expressed by the reciprocal ratio of the values of (s/b)2 obtained in each instance.
2006 Vaccine 24 3220/1 The geometric mean titre of each type was performed on a logarithmic (base 10) scale from the reciprocal ratio of the antibody titre levels.
reciprocal spiral n. Mathematics a spiral in which the length of the radius vector is inversely proportional to the angle through which it is turned.The polar equation of a reciprocal spiral is r = 1/ θ.
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1736 J. Hodgson Doctr. Fluxions iii. i. 246 Let it be required to find the Length of any Part of the reciprocal Spiral ABE.
1886 G. S. Carr Synopsis Elem. Results Math. II. 725 The Hyperbolic or Reciprocal Spiral.
1966 Progress Aerospace Sci. 7 38 The asymptomatic form of the spiral resembles to some extent the reciprocal spiral obtained by a somewhat incomplete argument..for the slender-body approximation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2009; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1567