reflex

re•flex

adj., n. [[t]ˈri flɛks[/t]] v. [[t]rɪˈflɛks[/t]] adj.

1) phl noting or pertaining to an involuntary response to a stimulus, the nerve impulse from a receptor being transmitted inward to a nerve center that in turn transmits it outward to an effector

2) occurring in reaction; responsive

3) cast back; reflected, as light or color

4) bent or turned back

5) phl

a) Also called re′flex act`. movement caused by a reflex response

b) Also called re′flex ac`tion. the entire physiological process activating such movement

6) phl any automatic, unthinking, often habitual behavior or response

7) the reflected image of an object

8) a reproduction, as if in a mirror

9) a copy; adaptation

10) reflected light, color, etc

11) ling. an element in a language, as a sound, that has developed from a corresponding element in an earlier form of the language: The (ō) in stone

is a reflex of Old English ā[/ex]

12) to subject to a reflex process

13) to bend, turn, or fold back

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Etymology: 1500–10; < L reflexus, ptp. of reflectere to bend back; see reflect re′flex•ly, adv.