Re`tar*da"tion (?), n. [L.
retardatio: cf. F. retardation.] 1.
The act of retarding; hindrance; the act of delaying; as, the
retardation of the motion of a ship; -- opposed to
acceleration.
The retardations of our fluent
motion.
De Quinsey.
2. That which retards; an obstacle; an
obstruction.
Hills, sloughs, and other terrestrial
retardations.
Sir W. Scott.
3. (Mus.) The keeping back of an
approaching consonant chord by prolonging one or more tones of a
previous chord into the intermediate chord which follows; -- differing
from suspension by resolving upwards instead of
downwards.
4. The extent to which anything is retarded;
the amount of retarding or delay.
Retardation of the tide. (a)
The lunitidal interval, or the hour angle of the moon at the time
of high tide any port; the interval between the transit of the moon
and the time of high tide next following. (b)
The age of the tide; the retard of the tide. See under
Retard, n.