SG Heritage Dictionary

Retaliation [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. The return of like for like; the doing that to another which he has done to us; requital of evil.

2. In a good sense, return of good for good.

3. God takes what is done to others as done to himself, and by promise obliges himself to full retaliation

4. [This, according to modern usage, is harsh.]

Retaliation [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

The act of retaliating, or of returning like for like; retribution; now, specifically, the return of evil for evil; e.g., an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.