1. In law, the cancellation or termination of a contract and the return of the parties to the positions they would have had if the contract had not been made: Rescission may be brought about by a court order or by the mutual consent of the parties who are involved.
2. Etymology: from Latin resciss- from rescindere, "to cancel, to repeal"; from re-, "back" + scindere, "to cut, to split."