Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - retort

 I. verb  Etymology: Latin ~us, past participle of retorquere, literally, to twist back, hurl back, from re- + torquere to twist — more at torture  Date: circa 1557  transitive verb  1. to pay or hurl back ; return ~ an insult  2.  a. to make a reply to  b. to say in reply  3. to answer (as an argument) by a counter argument  intransitive verb  1. to answer back usually sharply  2. to return an argument or charge  3. retaliate  II. noun  Date: 1600 a quick, witty, or cutting reply; especially one that turns back or counters the first speaker's words  Synonyms: see answer  III. noun  Etymology: Middle French ~e, from Medieval Latin ~a, from Latin, feminine of ~us; from its shape  Date: 1605 a vessel or chamber in which substances are distilled or decomposed by heat  IV. transitive verb  Date: 1850 to treat (as oil shale) by heating in a ~