"A Retort is a vessel in whose chamber an object is subjected to distillation or decomposition by heat, a neck conducting off the volatile products. The retort of the chemical laboratory is a vessel of glass, platinum, porcelain, or other material. It is bottle-shaped, having a long neck attached, in which the products of the distillation are condensed, and from which they pass into the receiver. The retort of the gas works is a cylinder or segment of a cylinder, formed of clay or iron."—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

Retort

"A Retort is a vessel in whose chamber an object is subjected to distillation or decomposition by heat,…