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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Retardation \Re`tar*da"tion\, n. [L. retardatio: cf. F.
retardation.]
1. The act of retarding; hindrance; the act of delaying; as,
the retardation of the motion of a ship; -- opposed to
{acceleration}.
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The retardations of our fluent motion. --De Quinsey.
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2. That which retards; an obstacle; an obstruction.
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Hills, sloughs, and other terrestrial retardations.
--Sir W.
Scott.
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3. (Mus.) The keeping back of an approaching consonant chord
by prolonging one or more tones of a previous chord into
the intermediate chord which follows; -- differing from
suspension by resolving upwards instead of downwards.
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4. The extent to which anything is retarded; the amount of
retarding or delay.
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{Retardation of the tide}.
(a) The lunitidal interval, or the hour angle of the moon
at the time of high tide any port; the interval
between the transit of the moon and the time of high
tide next following.
(b) The age of the tide; the retard of the tide. See under
{Retard}, n.
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