1.
[syn: knee jerk, knee-jerk reflex, patellar reflex]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Reflex \Re"flex\ (r?"fl?ks; formerly r?*fl?ks"), n. [L. reflexus
a bending back. See Reflect.]
1. Reflection; the light reflected from an illuminated
surface to one in shade.
[1913 Webster]
Yon gray is not the morning's eye,
'Tis but the pale reflex of Cynthia's brow. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
On the depths of death there swims
The reflex of a human face. --Tennyson.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Physiol.) An involuntary movement produced by reflex
action.
[1913 Webster]
Patellar reflex. See Knee jerk, under Knee.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
patellar reflex
n 1: a reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap on
the patellar tendon [syn: knee jerk, knee-jerk reflex,
patellar reflex]