Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Recoil \Re*coil"\, n.
   1. A starting or falling back; a rebound; a shrinking; as,
      the recoil of nature, or of the blood.

   2. The state or condition of having recoiled.

            The recoil from formalism is skepticism. --F. W.
                                                  Robertson.

   3. Specifically, the reaction or rebounding of a firearm when
      discharged.

   {Recoil dynamometer} (Gunnery), an instrument for measuring
      the force of the recoil of a firearm.

   {Recoil escapement} See the Note under {Escapement}.