torsion

Meaning

Noun

• 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.
• 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.
• The stopping of arterial haemorrhage in certain cases, by twisting the cut end of the artery.

Origin

• Borrowed from French, from Late Latin torsio, from Latin tortio, from torqueō. See torture, -tort.