Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Retortion

Retortion , noun

[Compare French rétorsion. See Retort, transitive verb]

1.
Act of retorting or throwing back; reflection or turning back.
It was, however, necessary to possess some single term expressive of this intellectual retortion. — Sir W. Hamilton
2.
(Law) Retaliation. — Wharton