Torsion

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Torsion \Tor"sion\, n. [F., fr. LL. torsio, fr. L. torquere,
     tortum, to twist. See {Torture}.]
     1. The act of turning or twisting, or the state of being
        twisted; the twisting or wrenching of a body by the
        exertion of a lateral force tending to turn one end or
        part of it about a longitudinal axis, while the other is


        held fast or turned in the opposite direction.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Mech.) That force with which a thread, wire, or rod of
        any material, returns, or tends to return, to a state of
        rest after it has been twisted; torsibility.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Angle of torsion} (of a curve) (Geom.), the indefinitely
        small angle between two consecutive osculating planes of a
        curve of double curvature.
  
     {Moment of torsion} (Mech.) the moment of a pair of equal and
        opposite couples which tend to twist a body.
  
     {Torsion balance} (Physics.), an instrument for estimating
        very minute forces, as electric or magnetic attractions
        and repulsions, by the torsion of a very slender wire or
        fiber having at its lower extremity a horizontal bar or
        needle, upon which the forces act.
  
     {Torsion scale}, a scale for weighing in which the fulcra of
        the levers or beams are strained wires or strips acting by
        torsion.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  torsion
       n 1: a tortuous and twisted shape or position; "they built a tree
            house in the tortuosities of its boughs"; "the acrobat
            performed incredible contortions" [syn: {tortuosity}, {tortuousness},
             {contortion}, {crookedness}]
       2: a twisting force [syn: {torque}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  67 Moby Thesaurus words for "torsion":
     ambages, anamorphism, anamorphosis, anfractuosity, asymmetry,
     buckle, circuitousness, circumambages, circumbendibus,
     circumlocution, circumvolution, contortion, convolution, crinkle,
     crinkling, crookedness, deflection, deflexure, detorsion,
     deviation, diffraction, diffusion, dispersion, disproportion,
     distortion, flection, flexuosity, flexuousness, flexure, gnarl,
     imbalance, intorsion, involution, irregularity, knot, lopsidedness,
     meander, meandering, quirk, refraction, rivulation, scatter, screw,
     sinuation, sinuosity, sinuousness, skewness, slinkiness, snakiness,
     stress, torque, tortility, tortuosity, tortuousness, turn, turning,
     twist, twisting, undulation, unsymmetry, warp, wave, waving,
     winding, wrench, wrest, wring