The name of a scroll in the RPG Rogue and it's descendants UMoria, Angband and it's variants. Reading a scroll of Word of Recall will have one of two effects depending on where you are. If you are in the dungeon, it will return you to the town after a random number of rounds have passed. If you are in the town, reading the scroll will return you to the deepest level of the dungeon that you have been at, again after a random number of turns have passed.
Scrolls of Word of Recall (or simply WoR as they are called) are some of the most useful items in the game. Once you have gained a few levels of experience, your character should always have a few on him or her (don't forget extras so those pesky Fire Hounds don't destroy them all). They allow you to easily get as deep in the dungeon as you want to be without having to wade through dozens of floors of boring weak monsters. Likewise, once you are ready to exit the dungeon, they let you get back to the town without the difficulty of having to find all of those up staircases.
The reason that they do not take effect immediately is because they are not for escaping combat situations. If you are being whaled-upon by an Ancient Dragon, Word of Recall will not save you. It is strictly meant to be a utilitarian scroll. However, if things look grim, it is not a bad idea to read one and then simply try to run away until it takes effect.