From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Involution \In`vo*lu"tion\, n. [L. involutio: cf. F. involution.
See {Involve}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. The act of involving or infolding.
[1913 Webster]
2. The state of being entangled or involved; complication;
entanglement.
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All things are mixed, and causes blended, by mutual
involutions. --Glanvill.
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3. That in which anything is involved, folded, or wrapped;
envelope. --Sir T. Browne.
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4. (Gram.) The insertion of one or more clauses between the
subject and the verb, in a way that involves or
complicates the construction.
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5. (Math.) The act or process of raising a quantity to any
power assigned; the multiplication of a quantity into
itself a given number of times; -- the reverse of
evolution.
[1913 Webster]
6. (Geom.) The relation which exists between three or more
sets of points, a.a', b.b', c.c', so related to a point O
on the line, that the product Oa.Oa' = Ob.Ob' = Oc.Oc' is
constant. Sets of lines or surfaces possessing
corresponding properties may be in involution.
[1913 Webster]
7. (Med.) The return of an enlarged part or organ to its
normal size, as of the uterus after pregnancy.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
involution
n 1: reduction in size of an organ or part (as in the return of
the uterus to normal size after childbirth)
2: a long and intricate and complicated grammatical construction
3: marked by elaborately complex detail [syn: {elaborateness},
{elaboration}, {intricacy}, {involution}]
4: the act of sharing in the activities of a group; "the teacher
tried to increase his students' engagement in class
activities" [syn: {engagement}, {participation},
{involvement}, {involution}] [ant: {non-engagement}, {non-
involvement}, {nonparticipation}]
5: the process of raising a quantity to some assigned power
[syn: {exponentiation}, {involution}]
6: the action of enfolding something [syn: {involution},
{enfolding}]
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