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   repercussion

   /ˌriːpəˈkʌʃn/

   noun

   • 1. an unintended consequence of an event or action, especially an unwelcome one: "the move would have grave repercussions for the entire region"
   • 2. the recoil of something after impact. archaic
   • 3. an echo or reverberation. archaic

   Word Origin late Middle English (as a medical term meaning ‘repressing of infection’): from Old French, or from Latin repercussio(n-), from repercutere ‘cause to rebound, push back’, from re- ‘back, again’ + percutere ‘to strike’. The early sense ‘driving back, rebounding’ (mid 16th century) gave rise later to ‘blow given in return’, hence repercussion (sense 1) (early 20th century).

   Derivatives

   • 1. repercussive adjective

   Scrabble Points: 16

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • P

     3

   • E

     1

   • R

     1

   • C

     3

   • U

     1

   • S

     1

   • S

     1

   • I

     1

   • O

     1

   • N

     1

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