[re.duc.tion] n [ME reduccion restoration, fr. MF reduction, fr. LL & L; LL reduction-, reductio reduction (in a syllogism), fr. L, restoration, fr. reducere] (1546) 1: the act or process of reducing: the state of being reduced
2. a: something made by reducing b: the amount by which something is reduced 3 [Sp reduccion, fr. L reduction-, reductio]: a So. American Indian settlement directed by Jesuit missionaries
4: meiosis 2; specif: production of the gametic chromosome number in the first meiotic division -- re.duc.tion.al adj