Torsal to Total
Torsal
(Tor"sal) n. (Carp.) A torsel. Knight.
Torse
(Torse) n. [OF., fr. OF. & F. tors, torse, twisted, wreathed, p. p. of tordre to twist, L. torquere.
See Torture.]
1. (Her.) A wreath.
2. [F. tors, torse, twisted.] (Geom.) A developable surface. See under Developable.
Torsel
(Tor"sel) n. (Carp.) A plate of timber for the end of a beam or joist to rest on. Gwilt
Torsibillty
(Tor`si*bil"l*ty) n. The tendency, as of a rope, to untwist after being twisted.
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.
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.
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.
Torsional
(Tor"sion*al) a. Of or pertaining to torsion; resulting from torsion, or the force with which a
thread or wire returns to a state of rest after having been twisted round its axis; as, torsional force.
Torsk
(Torsk) n. [Dan.; akin to Icel. þorskr a codfish, G. dorsch.] (Zoöl.) (a) The cusk. See Cusk.
(b) The codfish. Called also tusk.
Torso
(Tor"so) n.; pl. E. Torsos It. Torsi [It. torso, probably fr. L. thyrsus a stalk, stem, thyrsus, Gr.
cf. OHG. torso, turso, a stalk, stem, G. dorsche a cabbage stalk. Cf. Thyrsus, Truss.] The human
body, as distinguished from the head and limbs; in sculpture, the trunk of a statue, mutilated of head and
limbs; as, the torso of Hercules.
Tort
(Tort) n. [F., from LL. tortum, fr. L. tortus twisted, crooked, p. p. of torqure to twist, bend. See
Torture.]
1. Mischief; injury; calamity. [Obs.]
That had them long opprest with tort.
Spenser. 2. (Law) Any civil wrong or injury; a wrongful act (not involving a breach of contract) for which an action
will lie; a form of action, in some parts of the United States, for a wrong or injury.
||Executor de son tort. See under Executor. — Tort feasor (Law), a wrongdoer; a trespasser.
Wharton.
