reciprocation

English

Etymology

reciprocate +‎ -ion

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Noun

reciprocation (plural reciprocations)

1. The act of reciprocating; interchange of acts; a mutual giving and returning; as, the reciprocation of kindness.
2. Alternate recurrence or action; as, the reciprocation of the sea in the flow and ebb of tides; oscillation.
   • 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2:

     ... the same pendulum alwayes maketh its reciprocations in equall times.

References

• reciprocation in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• reciprocation in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989