torsion
[tawr-shuh n]
- the act of twisting.
- the state of being twisted.
- Mechanics.
- the twisting of a body by two equal and opposite torques.
- the internal torque so produced.
- Mathematics.
- the degree of departure of a curve from a plane.
- a number measuring this.
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Origin of torsion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for torsion
Historical Examples
In the b-position, on the other hand, the torsion is against the hands of a clock.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
In all these cases the torsion and asymmetry of the body are unaffected.
Even if it is only halved, the torsion is reduced sixteenfold.
This is because the torsion varies as the fourth power of the diameter.
It might be supposed that the torsion of the wire would appreciably affect the result.
torsion
- the twisting of a part by application of equal and opposite torques at either end
- the condition of twist and shear stress produced by a torque on a part or component
- the act of twisting or the state of being twisted
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Word Origin
C15: from Old French, from medical Latin torsiō griping pains, from Latin torquēre to twist, torture
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for torsion
n.
early 15c., "wringing pain in the bowels," from Old French torsion (early 14c.), from Late Latin torsionem (nominative torsio) "a wringing or gripping," from Latin tortionem (nominative tortio) "torture, torment," noun of action from past participle stem of torquere "to twist" (see thwart). Meaning "action or process of twisting as by opposing forces" is first recorded 1540s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
torsion
(tôr′shən)- A twisting or rotation of a part on its long axis.
- Twisting of the cut end of an artery to arrest hemorrhage.
- Ocular rotation around the anteroposterior axis.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
torsion
[tôr′shən]
- The stress on an object when torque is applied to it.
- A mathematical operation in geometry measuring how tightly a plane is twisted.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.