Reprisal

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈpɹaɪzəl/

Definitions

1. An act of retaliation or revenge taken in response to an injury or offense
2. A response involving retaliation or vengeance that occurs as a consequence of a perceived wrong or attack
3. A measure taken to inflict punishment or harm, often as a direct reply to an affront or injury suffered

Etymology: The English noun "reprisal" began as a legal and military term for seizing goods to make up for a wrong, and only later took on the sense of revenge. It came into English through Anglo-Norman "reprisaille" (French "représaille"), a word that passed through Italian, where "ripresaglia" meant the taking back of something. Medieval Italian merchants and states used such seizures to recover losses from a foreign city or trader that had wronged them, so the idea was of taking back what was owed rather than of striking out in anger. The Italian word itself came from "riprendere," meaning "to take back," which descends from Latin "reprendere," "to take back" or "to seize again." That Latin verb is also the ancestor of "reprehend," so "reprisal" and "reprehend" are distant cousins. The English word thus carries the sense of a reclaiming, and only gradually moved from lawful recovery of property toward retaliation for an injury.

Synonyms: retaliation, vengeance, retribution

Antonyms: forgiveness, pardon