retardation
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retardation:
see mental retardationmental retardation,below average level of intellectual functioning, usually defined by an IQ of below 70 to 75, combined with limitations in the skills necessary for daily living.
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retardation
(ree-tar-day -shŏn) The difference in the Moon's rising time between successive nights.Retardation
in biology, the late formation and delayed development of an organ in offspring as compared with ancestors. Retardation depends on the beginning of the functioning of an organ and consequently on the environmental conditions in which the development of the individual organism (ontogeny) occurs.
Retardation
(1) In linguistics, a variation of the phenomenon of phonetic analogy consisting of a change in the form of a word (lexeme) under the influence of the phonetic form of another lexeme that precedes it in context. Retardation is characteristic of numbers, for example, Tadzhik shonzdakh (“sixteen”), instead of the expected shazdakh, by analogy with ponzdakh (“fifteen”). The same phenomenon operating in the reverse direction is known as anticipation, for example, Russian deviat’ (“nine”), instead of neviat’, under the influence of desiat’ (“ten”).
(2) In poetics, a compositional technique of holding back the development of the plot; it is accomplished by such means as lyric digressions, descriptions of landscapes or interiors, and the repetition of episodes of the same type.