reprisal
/ɹɪˈpɹaɪzəl/ noun
Forms reprisals
- noun An act of retaliation.
- noun (archaic) Something taken from an enemy in retaliation.
- noun (archaic) The act of taking something from an enemy by way of retaliation or indemnity.
Etymology
From Anglo-Norman reprisaille (French représaille), from Old Italian ripresaglia (Italian rappresaglia), from ripreso, past participle of riprendere (“to take back”), from Latin reprendere, earlier reprehendere (see reprehend).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of taking from an enemy by way of reteliation or indemnity.
- noun Anything taken from an enemy in retaliation.
Etymology [F. repr, It. ripresaglia, rappresaglia, LL. reprensaliae, fr. L. reprehendere, reprehensum. See Reprehend, Reprise.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “reprisal”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details