reciprocate 
It must happen, no doubt, that frank and generous wo- 
men will excite love they do not reciprocate. 
Margaret Fuller, Woman in 19th Cent., p. 140. 
II. infrtnix. 1. To move backward and for- 
ward; have an alternating movement; act in- 
terchangeably; alternate. 
One brawny smith the putting bellows plies, 
And draws and blows reciprt,ratiit<i ;iir. 
llri/den, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, iv. 249. 
2. To act in return or response; do something 
equivalent or accordant : as, I did him many fa- 
vors, but he did not reciprocate. [Colloq.] Re- 
ciprocating engine, a form of engine in which the piston 
and piston-rod move back and forth in a straight line, ab- 
solutely or relatively to the cylinder, as In oscillating-cyl- 
inder engines : in contradistinction to rotatory engine. 
See rotatory. Reciprocating force. See force*. Re- 
ciprocating motion, in mack., a contrivance frequently 
employed in the transmission of power from one part of 
a machine to another. A rigid bar is suspended upon a 
center or axis, and the parts situated on each side of the 
axis take alternately the positions of those on the other. 
See cut under pitman. Reciprocating propeller, a 
propeller having a paddle which has a limited stroke and 
returns in the same path. Reciprocating proposi- 
tion. See proposition. 
reciprocation (re-sip-ro-ka'shon), . [< F. re- 
ciprocation = Sp. reciprocation = Pg. recipro- 
cacao = It. reciprocazione. < L. reciprocatio(n-), 
a going back upon itself, a returning by the 
same way, a retrogression, alternation, reflux, 
ebb, < reciprocare, pp. reciprocatus, move back 
and forth: see reciprocate.'] 1. A going back 
and forth ; alternation of movement. 
When the bent spring is freed, when the raised weight 
falls, a converse series of motions must be effected, and 
this . . . would lead to a mere reciprocation [of force]. 
W. R. Orove, Con. of Forces, p. 24. 
2. The act of reciprocating; interchange of 
acts; a mutual giving and returning: as, the 
reciprocation of kindnesses. 
We do therefore lie, in respect of each other, under a 
reciprocation of benefits. 
Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, Prol. 
3. In logic, the relation of two propositions 
each the converse of the other. Polar recipro- 
cation, in geom., the process of forming the polar recip- 
rocal of a figure. 
reciprocative (re-sip'ro-ka-tiv), a. [< recipro- 
cate + -ire.] Of a reciprocating character ; giv- 
ing and taking reciprocally. 
Our four-handed cousins apparently credit their biped 
kinsmen with reciprocating tendencies. 
Pop. Sci. Mo., XXXIV. 111. 
reciprocatory (re-sip'ro-ka-to-ri), a. [< recip- 
rocate + -on/.] Going backward and forward ; 
alternating in direction or in action ; recipro- 
cating: opposed to rotatory. 
Impart a reciprocatory motion to the carriage. 
C. T. Davis, Leather, p. 457. 
A rotatory movement could be combined with the recip- 
rocatory one. Dredge'* Electric Illumination, I. 388. 
reciprocity (resupros'i.-ti), n. [< F. reciprocite 
= Sp. reciprocidad = Pg. reciprocidade = It. re- 
ciprocitd, < ML. *reciprotita(t-)s, < L. recipro- 
cus, reciprocal: see reciprocal.] 1. Recipro- 
cal action or relation ; free interchange ; mu- 
tual responsiveness in act or effect: as, reci- 
procity of benefits or of feeling; reciprocity of 
influence. 
By the Convention of 1815 a reciprocity of intercourse 
was established between us and Great Britain. 
D. Webster, Speech, Jan. 24, 1832. 
2. Equality of commercial privileges between 
the subjects of different governments in each 
other's ports, with respect to shipping or mer- 
chandise, to the extent established by treaty. 
On the Continent, after the fourteenth century, a system 
of reciprocity was frequently established between the sev- 
eral towns, as for instance in 1365 at Tournay. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. cxxix. 
The reciprocity stipulations in our previous treaties were 
thought to operate disadvantageously to American navi- 
gation in the case of the Hanse towns, especially in regard 
to tobacco. E. Schuyler, Amer. Diplomacy, p. 432. 
Another illustration maybe found in the history of reci- 
procity with Canada. 
0. F. Edmunds, Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 428. 
3. In the Kantian pliilos., mutual action and re- 
action in the strict mechanical sense. 
Reciprocity, which, as a pure conception, is but the re- 
lation of parts or species in a generic whole, becomes . . . 
invariable coexistence, or coexistence according to a uni- 
versal rule. E. Caird, Philos. of Kant, p. 412. 
Glance once again at reciprocity and causality. The one 
is a necessary to and fro ; the other only a necessary fro. 
J. II. Stirling, Mind, X. 85. 
4. In geom., the mutual relationship between 
points and straight lines in a plane, or points 
and planes in space, etc.; duality Hermite's 
law Of reciprocity (named from the French mathemati- 
cian Charles Hermite, born 1822], the proposition that the 
number of invariants of the nth order in the coefficients 
possessed by a hinarj Atlantic of the pth degree is equal 
5001 
to the number of invariants of the order p in the coeffi- 
cient* possessed by a quantic of the nth degree. Law of 
reciprocity of prime numbers. See iawi. Plane bi- 
rational reciprocity, a one to one correspondence be- 
tween the elements of a field of points and those of a field 
of rays. Quadratic reciprocity. See quadratic. Re- 
ciprocity treaty, a treaty granting equal privileges of 
commercial intercourse in certain specified particulars to 
the people of the countries concerned. The reciprocity 
treaty between Great Britain and the United States, exist- 
ing from 1854 to 1866, provided forfreedom of trade in cer- 
tain commodities, chiefly raw or half-manufactured prod- 
ucts, between the latter country and the Canadian prov- 
inces. It was abrogated on previous notice given under 
its terms by the United States. The United States govern- 
ment formed a similar treaty with that of Hawaii in 1876. 
= Syn. 1. Exchange, Interchange, reciprocation. 
reciprockt, " [Also reriproque ; < OF. reci- 
proqnc, F. reciproque = Pr. reciproc = Sp. re- 
ci/iroco = Pg. It. reciproco, < L. reciprocus, re- 
ciprocal : see reciprocous and reciprocal.] Re- 
ciprocal. 
Twixt whom and them there is this reciprock commerce. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Bevels, v. 2. 
reciprocornous (re-sip-ro-kor'nus), a. [< L. re- 
eiprocicornis, having horns curved backward, < 
reciprocus, turning back the same way (see re- 
ciprocal), + cornv, a horn: see corn 2 and horn."] 
Having horns turned backward and then for- 
ward, as a ram. This form is characteristic of the 
sheep tribe, though not peculiar to it. See arietifonn, and 
cuts under bighorn, argali, aoudad, and Ovis. 
reciprocoust (re-sip'ro-kus), a. [< L. recipro- 
nix, turning back the same way: see recipro- 
cal.'] Reciprocal. 
For the removing of which imparity, the cardinal ac- 
quainted Taylor "That he had devised to make the band 
reciprocous and egal." 
Strype, Memorials, Hen. VIII., I. 1. 5. 
reciproquet, a. See reciprock. 
recision (re-sizh'on), n. [< OF. recision, F. rc- 
cision = Sp. recision = Pg. recisao = It. recisione, 
< L. recisio(n-), a cutting off, retrenchment, 
diminution, < recidere, pp. recisus, cut off, < re-, 
back, again, -I- csedere, cut.] 1 . The act of cut- 
ting off. Cotgrave. 2. Specifically, in surg., 
same as resection. 
recital (re-si'tal), n. [< recite + -al] 1. 
The reciting or repeating of something pre- 
viously prepared ; especially, an elocutionary 
recitation; the rhetorical delivery before an 
audience of a composition committed to mem- 
ory: as, the recital of a poem; a dramatic re- 
cital. 2. A telling over ; a narration ; a 
relation of particulars about anything, either 
orally or in writing : as, the recital of evidence. 
Some men , . . give us in recttofc of disease 
A doctor's trouble, hut without the fees. 
Cowper, Conversation, 1. 313. 
He poured out a recital of the whole misadventure. 
Howetts, Undiscovered Country, p. 154. 
3. That which is recited ; a story; a narrative: 
as, a harrowing recital. 4. In law : (a) That 
part of a deed which rehearses the circum- 
stances inducing or leading to its execution. 
(b) Any incidental statement of fact in a deed 
or contract: as, a recital is evidence of the 
fact recited, as against the party making it. 
5. A musical performance or concert, vocal 
or instrumental, especially one given by a single 
performer, or a concert consisting of selections 
from the works of some one composer : as, a 
Wagner recital; a piano recital. =Syn, 2 and 3. 
Relation, Narrative, etc. (see account), repetition, speech, 
discourse. 
recitation (res-i-ta'shon), n. [< OF. recitation, 
F. recitation = Sp. recitacion = Pg. recitaeSo 
= It. rccitazione, < L. recitatio(n-), a reading 
aloud of judicial decrees or literary works, < 
recitare, pp. recitatus, read aloud, recite: see 
recite.] 1. The act of reciting or repeating 
what has been committed to memory ; the oral 
delivery of a composition without the text, es- 
pecially as a public exercise or performance. 
2. The rehearsal by a pupil or student of a 
lesson or exercise to a teacher or other person ; 
a meeting of a class for the purpose of being 
orally examined in a lesson. 3. In music: (a) 
Same as rcritaliri'. (b) Same as retitintj-note . 
My stic recitation. See mystic. 
recitationist (res-i-ta'shon-ist), n. [< recita- 
tion + -1st.'] One who practises recitation ; a 
public reciter of his own or others' compo- 
sitions. 
The youth who has heard this last of the recitationists 
deliver one of his poems will recall in future years the 
fire and spirit of a veteran whose heart was in his work. 
Slfdman, Poets of America, vili. 3. 
recitation-room (res-i-ta'shon-rom), n. A room 
for college or school recitations. 
recitative (res"i-ta-tev'), a. and n. [< F. reci- 
tatif, n..< It. recitatiro, n., arecitative in music ; 
recite 
as recite + -ati're.] I. a. In music, in the style 
of a recitative; as if spoken. 
II. n. In music: (n) A form or style of song 
resembling declamation that is. in which reg- 
ularity of rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic 
structure is reduced to the minimum, it is a 
union of song and speech, with the emphasis sometimes on 
one element and sometimes on the other, but with a care- 
ful avoidance of technical "form" in the musical sense. 
The division into phrases is properly governed by rhetor- 
ical reasons only. The strictly tonal and metrical quali- 
ties of a balanced melody are usually but meagerly repre- 
sented. The sequence of harmoniesand of tonalities isoiten 
entirely unrestricted. An unaccompanied recitative (reci- 
tatiro secco) has only a few detached instrumental chords, 
or a basso continuo, to suggest or sketch the harmonic 
liasis of the melody. Accompaniments of this sort have 
been given at different periods to different instruments, 
such as the harpsichord, the violoncello, or the string or- 
chestra alone. An accompanied recitative (recitativo stro- 
menlato) has acontinuous instrumental background, which 
occasionally becomes highly descriptive or dramatic, and 
may be assigned to a full orchestra. This variety of reci- 
tative passes over insensibly into the arioso and the aria 
parlante. The recitative was invented, in the latter part 
of the sixteenth century, in the course of an attempt by 
certain Florentine musicians to recover the dramatic dec- 
lamation of the ancient Greeks. Its recognition as a le- 
gitimate style of composition opened the way for the de- 
velopment of the dramatic forms of the opera and the 
oratorio, in both of which it has always retained a prom- 
inent place. Its value in such extended forms is due to 
its adaptability todescriptive, explanatory, and epic matter 
generally, as well as to strictly dramatic utterance of every 
kind. It has been customary to introduce lyric arias by 
recitatives ; but in the operatic works of the present cen- 
tury the formal distinction between recitative and aria 
has been more or less abandoned as arbitrary. The melon 
of Wagner is an intermediate form, capable of extension 
in either direction. Also recitation. 
What they call Recitative in Musick is only a more tune- 
able Speaking ; it is a kind of Prose in Musick. 
Congreve, Semele, Arg. 
Ballads, in the seventeenth century, had become the de- 
light of the whole Spanish people. . . . The blind beggar 
gathered alms by chanting them, and the puppet-showman 
gave them in recitative to explain his exhibition. 
Ticknor, Span. Lit, III. 77. 
(6) A section, passage, or movement in the style 
described above. 
recitatively (res'i-ta-tev'li), adv. In the man- 
ner of recitative. 
recitativo (ra-che-ta-te'vo). n. [It., a recitative 
in music : see recitative.] Recitative. 
She tripp'd and laugh'd, too pretty much to stand ; . . . 
Then thus in quaint recitativo spoke. 
Pope, Dunciad, iv. 62. 
recite (re-sit'),c. ; pret. and pp. recited, ppr. re- 
citing. '[< OF. reciter, F. reciter = Pr. Sp. Pg. 
reciiar = It. recitare, < L. recitare. read aloud, 
recite, repeat from memory, < re-, again, + 
citare, cite: see cite 1 .] I. trans. 1. To repeat or 
say over, as something previously prepared or 
committed to memory; rehearse the words of; 
deliver orally: as, to recite the Litany ; to recite 
a poem. 
All the parties concerned were then called together ; and 
the fedtah. or prayer of peace, used in long and dangerous 
journies, was solemnly recited and assented to by them all. 
Bruce, Source of the Nile, II. 504. 
2. In music, to deliver in recitative. 
The dialogue [in the first operas] was neither sung in 
measure, nor declaimed without Music, but recited in sim- 
ple musical tones. Burney, Hist. Music, IV*. 18. 
3. To relate the facts or particulars of ; give an 
account or statement of; tell: as, to recite one's 
adventures or one's wrongs. 
Till that, as comes by course, I doe recite 
What fortune to the Briton Prince did lite, 
Pursuing that proud Knight. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. vi. 17. 
Lest the world should task you to recite 
What merit lived in me. Shale., Sonnets, Ixxii. 
"I make," cries Charley, reciting the shield, "three 
merions on a field or, with an earl's coronet." 
Tltackeray, Virginians, xxxii. 
4. To repeat or tell over in writing ; set down 
the words or particulars of; rehearse; cite; 
quote. 
Which booke (de Ratione Studii et de Liberis Educandis) 
is oft recited, and moch praysed, in the fragmentes of 
Nonius, even for authoritie sake. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, ii. 
Lucianus, the merry Greeke, reciteth a great number of 
them [prophecies], deuised by a coosening companion, one 
Alexander. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 218. 
The thoughts of gods let Granville's verse recite. 
Pope, Windsor Forest, 1. 425. 
To recite one's beads. See to bid beads, under bead. 
= Syn. 3. Cite, Adduce, etc. (see quote) ; Rehearse, Reiterate, 
etc. (see recapitulate); enumerate, detail. 
II. intrans. To make a recitation or rehearsal; 
rehearse or say over what has been learned : as, 
to recite in public or in a class. 
They recite without book. 
E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, II. 126. 
recitet (re-sit'), n. [< recite, r.] Recital. 
All former recites or observations of long-liv'd races. 
Sir W. Temple, Health. 
