Hypertext Webster Gateway: "refract"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Refract \Re*fract"\ (r?*fr$kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
{Refracted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Refracting}.] [L. refractus, p.
p. of refringere; pref. re- re- + frangere to break: cf. F.
r['e]fracter. SEe {FRacture}, and cf. {Refrain}, n.]
1. To bend sharply and abruptly back; to break off.
2. To break the natural course of, as rays of light orr heat,
when passing from one transparent medium to another of
different density; to cause to deviate from a direct
course by an action distinct from reflection; as, a dense
medium refrcts the rays of light as they pass into it from
a rare medium.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
refract
v 1: subject to refraction, as of a light beam
2: determine the refracting power of (a lens)
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.