retort

Etymology 1

From Middle English retorte, from Latin retortus, from retorquēre (“to be forced to twist back”).

noun

1. A sharp or witty reply, or one which turns an argument against its originator; a comeback.

verb

1. To say something sharp or witty in answer to a remark or accusation.
   “It is a pity,” he retorted with aggravating meekness, “that they do not use a little common sense. The case resembles that of Columbus' egg, and is every bit as simple. […]” 1905, Baroness Emmuska Orczy, chapter 1, in The Ayrsham Mystery
2. To make a remark which reverses an argument upon its originator; to return, as an argument, accusation, censure, or incivility.
   to retort the charge of vanity
3. To bend or curve back.
   a retorted line
4. To throw back; to reverberate; to reflect.

Etymology 2

From French retorte.

noun

1. (chemistry) A flask with a rounded base and a long neck that is bent down and tapered, used to heat a liquid for distillation.
   A large curved retort was boiling furiously in the bluish flame of a Bunsen burner, and the distilled drops were condensing into a two-litre measure. 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Naval Treaty, Norton, page 670
2. An airtight vessel in which material is subjected to high temperatures in the chemical industry or as part of an industrial manufacturing process, especially during the smelting and forging of metal.
3. A pressure cooker.
   The retort is above boiling water. Beneath is a furnace. To the right a man is removing the chips from which the camphor has been extracted. March 1920, Alice Ballantine Kirjassoff, “FORMOSA THE BEAUTIFUL”, in National Geographic Magazine, page 268
4. A crematory furnace.

verb

1. (transitive) To heat in a retort.