detortion

English

Noun

detortion (countable and uncountable, plural detortions)

1. (dated) The act of detorting, or the state of being detorted; a twisting or warping.
   • 1835 January 23 (date written), Frederic James Post, “A Discourse Touching Rides and Riding”, in Extracts from the Diary and Other Manuscripts of the Late Frederic James Post, of Islington. […], London: […] [James Moyes] for private circulation, published 1838, →OCLC, pages 331–332:

     But often, when thy face [i.e., that of a horse] is turned from the stable, thou hast an unaccountable desire to place it in the position occupied by thy tail: thou stoppest, coughest, shyest, and erst, with swift detorsion, turnest round, then, with sidelong glance of my magic caduceus, ominously wagging between the horizon and thy ample sides, I incite thee on, but rarely does thy pace more than trot, from home.

Alternative forms

• detorsion

Further reading

• “detortion”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.