reprisal Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime

WordNet

Re*pris"al noun
Etymology
F. reprsaille, It. ripresaglia, rappresaglia, LL. reprensaliae, fr. L. reprehendere, reprehensum. See Reprehend, Reprise.
Definitions
  1. The act of taking from an enemy by way of reteliation or indemnity.
    Debatable ground, on which incursions and reprisals continued to take place. Macaulay.
  2. Anything taken from an enemy in retaliation.
  3. The act of retorting on an enemy by inflicting suffering or death on a prisoner taken from him, in retaliation for an act of inhumanity. Vattel (Trans. )
  4. Any act of retaliation. Waterland.

Webster 1913