Emily Dickinson Lexicon

RET-RI-BU'TION, n. [Fr.]

1. Repayment; return accommodated to the action; reward; compensation. In good offices and due retributions, we may not be pinching and niggardly. – Hall.
2. A gratuity or present given for services in the place of a salary. – Encyc.
3. The distribution of rewards and punishments at the general judgment. It is a strong argument for a state of retribution hereafter, that in this world virtuous persons are very often unfortunate, and vicious persons prosperous. – Spectator.