- recoil (v.)
- early 13c., "force back," from O.Fr. reculer "to go back, recede, retreat," from V.L. *reculare, from L. re- "back" + culus "backside." Meaning "shrink back" is first recorded 1510s, and that of "spring back" (as a gun) in 1520s. The noun is attested from early 14c.