retroflex

[re-truh-fleks]

adjective

bent backward; exhibiting retroflexion.

Phonetics. articulated with the tip of the tongue curled upward and back against or near the juncture of the hard and soft palates; cacuminal; cerebral; coronal.

Also ret·ro·flexed

[re-truh-flekst] /ˈrɛ trəˌflɛkst/.

Origin of retroflex

First recorded in 1910–15, retroflex is from the Latin word retrōflexus (past participle of retrōflectere to bend back). See retro-, flex¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for retroflex

Historical Examples of retroflex

The retroflex sibilant is transliterated sh; this was unchanged.
Chips from a German Workshop - Volume IV
Max Mller
This curve shows a point of maximum temperature at F1, and a retroflex portion F1G1.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications
Alexander Findlay
This curve also shows a point of maximum temperature (F) and a retroflex portion.
The Phase Rule and Its Applications
Alexander Findlay

British Dictionary definitions for retroflex

retroflex

retroflexed

adjective

bent or curved backwards

phonetics of, relating to, or involving retroflexion

Word Origin for retroflex

C18: from Latin retrōflexus, from retrōflectere, from retro- + flectere to bend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for retroflex

adj.

1776, from Modern Latin retroflexus, past participle of retroflectere "to bend back," from retro (see retro-) + flectere "to bend" (see flexible). The verb (1898) is a back-formation from retroflexed (1806), from the adjective.