stella

Borrowed from Latin stēlla (“a star”). Doublet of estoile, étoile, and stelo; related to aster and star.

Plants of this collection are several decimeters taller; the pedicels are more remote in the inforescence; the stellae are larger and form a less dense cover on plant parts, and the siliques are slightly larger than in the usual form of the species.

1939 June, Reed C. Rollins, “Studies in the Genus Lesquerella”, in American Journal of Botany, volume 26, number 6, →DOI:

Stems and young branches terete, viscid, densely ferruginous-tomentose with sessile to short-stalked pauciradiate stellae bearing greatly prolonged 4-6-celled midpoints, these 0.1-0.2 cm long, gland-tipped, strongly armed with ferruginous laterally compressed prickles, these broad-based and sparsely glandular in the basal quarter.

1997 July, Maria de Fátima Agra, Michael Nee, “A new species of Solanum subgenus Leptostemonum (Solanaceae) from northeastern Brazil”, in Brittonia, volume 49, number 3, →DOI, page 350:

The morphological and statistic analyses are also given to the stellae structure of Olivooides and Punctatus, which indicates that this structure is a result of adaptive evolu- tion to a lifestyle of fast-attaching after hatching, probably with the function of mucilage secretion.

2008 December, Fang Chen, XiPing Dong, “The internal structure of Early Cambrian fossil embryo Olivooides revealed in the light of synchrotron X-ray tomographic microscopy”, in Chinese Science Bulletin, volume 53, number 24, →DOI, page 3860:


stain

en-verb

stain (third-person singular simple present stains, present participle staining, simple past and past participle stained)

stains (present singular third-person)
staining (participle present)
stained (participle past)
stained (past)

From Middle English steinen, steynen (“to stain, colour, paint”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse steina (“to stain, colour, paint”), from steinn (“stone, mineral blue, colour, stain”), from Proto-Norse ᛊᛏᚨᛁᚾᚨᛉ (stainaʀ), from Proto-Germanic *stainaz (“stone”), from Proto-Indo-European *steyh₂- (“to stiffen”). Cognate with Old English stān (“stone”). More at stone.
Replaced native Middle English wem (“spot, blemish, stain”), from Old English wamm (“spot, stain”).
In some senses, influenced by unrelated Middle English disteynen (“to discolor, remove the colour from"; literally, "de-colour”), from Anglo-Norman desteindre (“to remove the colour from, bleach”), from Old French destaindre (“to remove the color from, bleach”), from des- (“dis-, de-, un-”) + teindre (“to dye”), from Latin tingo.

noncog

(transitive, cytology, histology) To treat (a microscopic specimen) with a dye, especially one that dyes specific features

värjätä

to treat a microscope specimen with a dye


vulgar

en-adj

vulgar (comparative more vulgar or vulgarer, superlative most vulgar or vulgarest)

more vulgar (comparative)
vulgarer (comparative)
most vulgar (superlative)
vulgarest (superlative)
vulgare (alternative)

From Middle English vulgare, from Latin vulgāris, from volgus, vulgus (“mob; common folk”), from Proto-Indo-European *wl̥k-. Compare Welsh gwala (“plenty, sufficiency”), Ancient Greek ἁλία (halía, “assembly”), εἰλέω (eiléō, “to compress”), Old Church Slavonic великъ (velikŭ, “great”).

cog

vulgar bush brown (Bicyclus vulgaris)

A vulture (V. aura), probably the Acabiry first described by Azara, is here called […] the hunter. It resembles in form the vulgar bird, but it flies high. The head is red, and the wings are black with silver lining, like the noble Bateleur of Africa.

1869, Richard Francis Burton, The Highlands of the Brazil, page 85:

(especially taxonomy) Common, usual; of the typical kind.


placenta

en-noun

placenta (plural placentae or placentas)

Elision for phrases such as New Latin placenta uterī (“womb cake”), placenta uterina (“uterine cake”), from Latin placenta (“flat cake”), because of the flat round shape of the afterbirth.

(botany) In flowering plants, the part of the ovary where ovules develop; in non-flowering plants where the spores develop.


repent

From Latin rēpēns, present participle of rēpō (“I creep”).

The pennated, repent and ferine entities of the boscage, are ousels, shellducks, […] and ursine quadrupeds.

1870, Samuel Klinefelter Hoshour, Letters to Squire Pedant in the East, page 54:

(chiefly botany) Creeping along the ground.


duet

en-verb

duet (third-person singular simple present duets, present participle duetting or dueting, simple past and past participle duetted or dueted)

duets (present singular third-person)
duetting (participle present)
dueting (participle present)
duetted (participle past)
duetted (past)
dueted (participle past)
dueted (past)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Italian duetto (“short musical composition for two voices”), diminutive of due (“two”).

der

1975, Edward O. Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, Belknap Press, p. 223,
Duetting species are typically monogamous.

In several dozen species of birds there has been found a phenomenon known as duetting, or antiphonal singing: the first part of a song is executed by one partner of a pair, then the other partner very promptly chimes in to sing the second part.

1986, Thomas A. Sebeok, chapter 7, in I Think I Am a Verb: More Contributions to the Doctrine of Signs, New York: Springer Science+Business, published 2013, page 87:

(intransitive, zoology, of pairs of animals) To communicate (warnings, mating calls, etc.) through song.


chamber

From Middle English chambre, borrowed from Old French chambre, from Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “vaulted chamber”). Doublet of camera.

(biology) An enlarged space in an underground tunnel of a burrowing animal.


enzyme

en-noun

enzyme (countable and uncountable, plural enzymes)

From German Enzym, coined 1878 by the German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne from Ancient Greek ἐν (en, “in”) + ζύμη (zúmē, “sourdough”).

affix

en:proteinaceous or ribonucleic biocatalyst

(biochemistry) A biomolecule that catalyses a biological chemical reaction: either a globular protein with this function or an RNA molecule with this function.

(strictly) The protein type specifically.


genu

PIE word
 *ǵónu
Borrowed from Latin genu (“knee”).

A knee-like structure, in particular a bend in the corpus callosum of mammals.


Nessie

That flurry of activity had been set off by a magisterial book (Whyte, 1957), reinforced by Dinsdale’s filming of a Nessie (Dinsdale, 1961) and culminating in successful underwater photography (Rines et al., 1976) by the Academy of Applied Science (AAS). Nessies were assigned the taxonomic identity Nessiteras rhombopteryx (Anonymous, 1975).

2002, Henry H. B. Auer, “The Case for the Loch Ness 'Monster': The Scientific Evidence”, in Journal of Scientific Exploration, volume 16, number 2, pages 225–246:

And if it comes down to just one vote, we all know who will be called upon to break that tie. Go with your gut, Nessie. You do you, Nessie, you do you.

2014, Tim Carvell [et al.], “Scottish Independence”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 1, episode 17, John Oliver (actor), Warner Bros. Television, via HBO:

(informal, cryptozoology) The Loch Ness monster.


Loch Ness monster

the Loch Ness monster (canonical)
Loch Ness Monster (alternative)

(cryptozoology) A large creature believed by some to inhabit Loch Ness in Scotland. It is said to have a long neck and one or more humps that protrude from the water.


scour

en-verb

scour (third-person singular simple present scours, present participle scouring, simple past and past participle scoured)

scours (present singular third-person)
scouring (participle present)
scoured (participle past)
scoured (past)
scower (alternative)

From Middle English scǒuren (“to polish, scour; to clean; to beat, whip”), from Middle Dutch scuren, schuren (“to clean; to polish”) or Middle Low German schǖren, of uncertain origin but probably from Old French escurer, from Medieval Latin scūrō, escūrō, excūrō (“to clean off”), from ex- (“thoroughly”) + cūrō (“to arrange, see to, take care of”), from cūra (“care, concern”) (from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed”)) + -ō.
The word is cognate with Danish skure, Middle High German schüren, schiuren (modern German scheuern (“to scour, scrub; to chafe”)), Norwegian skura (“to scrub”), Swedish skura, Catalan escurar.

cog

to scour a horse

(transitive, veterinary medicine) To clear the digestive tract (of an animal) by administering medication that induces defecation or vomiting; to purge.

If a lamb is scouring, do not delay treatment.

It has been stated by trustworthy authorities that certain waters in the lias-formation possess scouring properties. […] Mr. Clarke likewise mentions two cases. "In one instance," he says, "a large piece of pasture-land was found to scour the cows kept upon it, to the great loss of the occupier, until he hit upon the expedient of cutting off the supply of spring-water from a neighbouring brook, and confining the supply to the rain-water held in the ditches,—the result of which has been that very little of the disorder has since appeared upon the land referred to.[…]"

1862, Augustus Voelcker, “X.—On the Scouring Lands of Central Somerset. … [Report of an Investigation Made at the Request of the Council of the Bath and West of England Society.]”, in Journal of the Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, volume X, part I, London: James Ridgway, […], →OCLC, section 3 (Examination of the Water Theory), page 191:

(ambitransitive, veterinary medicine) To (cause livestock to) suffer from diarrhoea or dysentery.


bane

en-noun

bane (countable and uncountable, plural banes)

The noun is derived from Middle English bane (“person or thing that destroys life, murderer, slayer; person who destroys the soul; destruction of life, death, doom; poison”), from Old English bana (“person or thing that causes death, murderer”), from Proto-West Germanic *banō, from Proto-Germanic *banô (“killer, murderer, slayer; death, bane”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to slay, kill; to strike”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
cognates
* Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌾𐌰 (banja, “wound”)
* Old Frisian bona (“death; murder”)
* Old Norse bani (Danish bane (“death; murder”), Icelandic bani (“bane, death”), Swedish bane (“death; murder”)), Old Norse ben (“(moral) wound”)
* Old English ben, benn (“mortal injury; wound”)
* Old High German bano (“death”) (Middle High German ban, bane)
* Old Saxon bano (“death; murder”), beni (“mortal injury; wound”)

inh

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-bane.wav

напаст

cause of misery or ruin — see also affliction

(uncountable, UK, dialectal, veterinary medicine) A disease of sheep in which breakdown of tissue occurs; rot.


bane

en-verb

bane (third-person singular simple present banes, present participle baning, simple past and past participle baned)

banes (present singular third-person)
baning (participle present)
baned (participle past)
baned (past)
bane (infinitive)
bane (first-person present singular)
baned (first-person past singular)
bane (present second-person singular)
banest (archaic present second-person singular)
baned (past second-person singular)
banedst (archaic past second-person singular)
banes (present singular third-person)
baneth (archaic present singular third-person)
baned (past singular third-person)
bane (plural present)
baned (past plural)
bane (present subjunctive)
baned (past subjunctive)
bane (imperative present)
baning (participle present)
baned (participle past)

(UK, dialectal, veterinary medicine) To cause (sheep) a disease, especially the rot (“a disease in which breakdown of tissue occurs”).


agonist

→ Polish: agonista

Borrowed from Latin agōnista, from Ancient Greek ἀγωνιστής (agōnistḗs, “combatant, champion”). By surface analysis, agon or agony + -ist.

surf

Acetylcholine is an agonist at the cholinergic receptor.

(biochemistry, pharmacology) A molecule that can combine with a receptor on a cell to produce a physiological reaction.


pariah

From Tamil பறையர் (paṟaiyar), from பறையன் (paṟaiyaṉ, “drummer”), from பறை (paṟai, “drum”) or from Malayalam പറയർ (paṟayaṟ), from പറയൻ (paṟayaṉ, “drummer”), from പറ (paṟa, “drum”). Parai in Tamil or Para in Malayalam refers to a type of large drum designed to announce the king’s notices to the public. The people who made a living using the parai were called paraiyar; in the caste-based society they were in the lower strata, hence the derisive paraiah and pariah. Alternatively, derived from Sanskrit पर (para, “distant; outsider”).

(zoology) Ellipsis of pariah dog (“an Indian breed, any stray dog in Indian contexts”).


catadromous

en-adj

catadromous (comparative more catadromous, superlative most catadromous)

more catadromous (comparative)
most catadromous (superlative)

From cata- + -dromous, by analogy with anadromous. Compare catanadromous.

Bird migration routes favor marshes and river valleys, as do, more obviously, the movement of anadromous salmon and, the mirror image, catadromous eels, to mention only two of the numerous migrating fish species.

2017, James C Scott, chapter 1, in Against the Grain, New Haven & London: Yale, →ISBN, page 53:

(ichthyology, of a migratory fish) Living in fresh water as an adult, but breeding in the sea.

(botany) Of a fern in which the first veins in a frond segment are produced towards the base of the frond.


microorganism

microorganisms (plural)
micro-organism (alternative)
microörganism (alternative)

/ˌmaɪ.kɹəʊˈɔː.ɡəˌnɪz.m̩/

/ˌmaɪ.kɹoʊˈɔɹ.ɡəˌnɪz.m̩/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-microorganism.wav

The cud is then reswallowed and further digested by specialized microorganisms that live in the rumen.

Bacillus anthracis: from the first up to the sixth day, this microorganism was isolatable, or in other words still alive.

1957, Communicationes Veterinariae - Volumes 1-3, page 52:

The differences in biofilm penetration patterns of both tested photosensitisers and the light source could have played an important role for the survival of microorganisms after the application of aPDT. In a recent own study, we showed that the deepest layers of the oral biofilm were not affected by the aPDT [4 ].

2015 November 7, “Antimicrobial Photoinactivation Using Visible Light Plus Water-Filtered Infrared-A (VIS + wIRA) Alters In Situ Oral Biofilms”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

(microbiology) An organism that is too small to be seen by the unaided eye; especially, a single-celled organism, such as a bacterium.

مِيكْرُوب

an organism too small to be seen by unaided eye


iced

iced (comparative more iced, superlative most iced)

more iced (comparative)
most iced (superlative)

(botany) Having a glittering papillose surface.


megachiropteran

(zoology) Of or relating to the fruit bats of suborder Megachiroptera.


megachiropteran

(zoology) A fruit bat of suborder Megachiroptera.


palisade

Borrowed from Middle French palissade, from Old French, from Old Occitan palissada, from palissa (“stake”), probably from pal (“stake”), or possibly from Gallo-Romance *pālīcea, from Latin pālus (“stake”) + -ade.

(biology) An even row of cells, e.g., palisade mesophyll cells.


obliterate

en-verb

obliterate (third-person singular simple present obliterates, present participle obliterating, simple past and past participle obliterated)

obliterates (present singular third-person)
obliterating (participle present)
obliterated (participle past)
obliterated (past)
obliterate (infinitive)
obliterate (first-person present singular)
obliterated (first-person past singular)
obliterate (present second-person singular)
obliteratest (archaic present second-person singular)
obliterated (past second-person singular)
obliteratedst (archaic past second-person singular)
obliterates (present singular third-person)
obliterateth (archaic present singular third-person)
obliterated (past singular third-person)
obliterate (plural present)
obliterated (past plural)
obliterate (present subjunctive)
obliterated (past subjunctive)
obliterate (imperative present)
obliterating (participle present)
obliterated (participle past)

PIE word
 *h₁epi
(start of 17th century) From earlier obliterat, learned borrowing from Latin obliterātus, oblitterātus (“having been blotted out, effaced, erased; having been forgotten”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix, of participial origin)). Obliterātus and oblitterātus are respectively the perfect passive participles of obliterō and oblitterō (“to blot out, efface, erase, obliterate; to cause to be forgotten”), probably either:
* from ob- (prefix meaning ‘against; towards’) + littera (“letter of the alphabet; (metonymically) handwriting”) (further etymology unknown); or
* from oblītus (“disregarded, neglected; forgotten”), influenced by littera. Oblītus is the perfect passive participle of oblinō (“to daub over, besmear”), from ob- + possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ- (“not heavy, light; brief; swift”).
Cognates
* Catalan obliterar (“to erase; to cancel (a stamp); to close up or fill (a body cavity, vessel, etc.)”)
* Middle French oblitérer (modern French oblitérer (“to cause (memories) to fade; to block, obstruct; to cancel (a stamp, ticket, etc.) so it cannot be reused”))
* Portuguese obliterar (“to destroy completely; to erase”)
* Spanish obliterar (“to destroy completely; to erase”)

cog

/əˈblɪtəˌɹeɪt/

In the developing embryo the foregut is surrounded by a group of vascular structures of bilateral distribution connected with the branchial arches. Portions of these arches are obliterated to form the normally described aorta and great vessels. The ultimate persistence of only one main vascular arch, the left, as the aorta, permits the trachea and oesophagus to lie freely to its right side.

1959 September, F. Ronald Edwards, “Vascular Compression of the Trachea and Oesophagus”, in N[orman] R[upert] Barrett, J[ohn] G[uyett] Scadding, editors, Thorax, volume XIV, number 3, London: British Medical Association, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, →PMID, page 187, column 1:

The pleural sac was obliterated by firm fibrous adhesions over the right upper lobe.

1959 December, R. H. Elphinstone, R. G. Spector, “Sarcoma of the Pulmonary Artery”, in N[orman] R[upert] Barrett, J[ohn] G[uyett] Scadding, editors, Thorax, volume XIV, number 4, London: British Medical Association, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, →PMID, page 335, column 1:

Compression of an aneurysm of the left carotid artery should obliterate only the pulses of the distribution of this artery, not those of the femoral arteries. If the mass is an aneurysm of the right common carotid artery, manual compression should obliterate the distribution of this vessel and, because of its location, may also obliterate the vessels of the right arm. However, femoral pulsations should be preserved.

1974 July, Ira W. DuBrow, Sheldon O. Burman, Decio O. Elias, Alois R. Hastreiter, Raymond J. Pietras, “Aortic Arch in the Neck”, in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, volume 68, number 1, [St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby?], →DOI, →ISSN, →PMID, page 27, column 1:

(biology, pathology, surgery, chiefly passive voice) To impair the function and/or structure of (a body cavity, vessel, etc.) by ablating or occluding it (in the latter case, chiefly by filling it with tissue).

obliterar

to impair the function and/or structure of (a body cavity, vessel, etc.) by ablating or occluding it

distal pulses obliterate until perfusion is restored

(biology, pathology) Of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction.

täyttyä

of a body cavity, vessel, etc.: to close up or fill with tissue; of perfusion or a pulse: to cease owing to obstruction


obliterate

en-adj

obliterate (comparative more obliterate, superlative most obliterate)

more obliterate (comparative)
most obliterate (superlative)

Learned borrowing from Latin obliterātus (see more at Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix, of participial origin)).

lbor

/əˈblɪtəɹət/

/əˈblɪtəɹət/

(entomology, rare) Of markings on an insect: difficult to distinguish from the background; faint, indistinct.


retrograde

en-adj

retrograde (comparative more retrograde, superlative most retrograde)

more retrograde (comparative)
most retrograde (superlative)

The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). By surface analysis, retro- + -grade.
The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.

cog

/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/

/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/

retrògrad

reverting to an inferior or less developed state — see also declining, regressing

Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.

(zoology) Of an animal: appearing to regress to a less developed form during its lifetime.


thyrsus

Learned borrowing from Latin thyrsus, from Ancient Greek θύρσος (thúrsos). Doublet of thyrse, torse, and torso.

(botany) A species of inflorescence; a dense panicle, as in the lilac and horse-chestnut.


acarology

From acaro- + -logy, based on Ancient Greek ἄκαρι (ákari, “cheese mite, tick”) + -λογία (-logía).

der

1999, Rodger David Mitchell (editor), Acarology IX, Volume 2: Symposia, Ohio Biological Survey, page xvii,
The students and faculty of the acarology course were Don's life, and his example pushed us all to higher levels of achievement.

General texts on acarology include works by Woolley (1987), Evans (1992), and Krantz and Walter (2009).

2009, Lance A. Durden, Gary R. Mullen, “Introduction”, in Gary R. Mullen, Lance A. Durden, editors, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 1:

Acarology is the study of mites, or Acari or Acarina. It is a specialized field of study in the larger topics of invertebrate zoology and entomology. Because some mites are economically important pests of agriculture (crops, honey bees, stored food products, and livestock), are household pests, or are vectors of diseases of humans and livestock, acarology is often studied in entomology departments.

2011, Marjorie A. Hoy, Agricultural Acarology, Taylor & Francis (CRC Press), page 3:


acentrous

en-adj

acentrous (comparative more acentrous, superlative most acentrous)

more acentrous (comparative)
most acentrous (superlative)

2001, "Axial Skeleton", David Cannatella, https://web.archive.org/web/20051222184337/http://www.lifesci.utexas.edu/courses/bio478L/LecturesPDF/bodyskeleton.pdf
"Some bony fishes (Teleostei, Amia, Lepisosteus, and Brachiopterygii) have well-ossified centra and neural and hemal arches. Others (Dipnoi, Latimeria, and Chondrostei) lack centra (acentrous), and the notochord is unconstricted, and the bony neural and hemal arches simply rest on it."


chaser

Inherited from Middle English chaser, chacer, chasour, borrowed from Old French chaceür, chaceor, from chacier (“to chase, hunt”); later senses from or influenced by chase (“pursue”) + -er. Doublet of chasseur.

преследва́ч

person or thing (ship, plane, car, etc.) who chases

(taxonomy) Any dragonfly of family Libellulidae.


confluence

confluences (plural)
confluency (alternative)

From late Middle English confluence, from Late Latin cōnfluentia (“a flowing together, conflux”), from cōnfluēns (present participle of cōnfluō (“to flow or run together”)) + -ia (nominal suffix).

af

present participle of <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">cōnfluō</i> (“to flow or run together”)

(biology) The proportion of cells, in a culture medium, that adhere to each other.


epistrophe

en-noun

epistrophe (countable and uncountable, plural epistrophes)

Borrowed from Latin epistrophē, itself a borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐπιστροφή (epistrophḗ).

As is well known, chloroplast in the epistrophe position presents an oval or more or less circular form; in the apostrophe position a flattened and lenticular form.

1905 September 8, Harold Wager, “On Some Problems of Cell Structure and Physiology”, in English Mechanics and the World of Science, volume 82, number 2111, page 105:

(botany) An arrangement of chlorophyll grains on the outer surface of plant cells, as opposed to apostrophe (an arrangement at right angles to the surface).


gate

en-verb

gate (third-person singular simple present gates, present participle gating, simple past and past participle gated)

gates (present singular third-person)
gating (participle present)
gated (participle past)
gated (past)
yate (alternative)

From Middle English gate, gat, ȝate, ȝeat, from Old English ġeat (“gate”), from Proto-West Germanic *gat, from Proto-Germanic *gatą (“hole, opening”).
See also Old Norse gat, Swedish and Dutch gat, Low German Gaat, Gööt.

(transitive, biochemistry) To open (a closed ion channel).


breve

From Middle English breve, variant of bref, from Old French brieve, breve (feminine form of brief, bref), from Latin brevis (“short”).

(zoology) A pitta, all of which have more or less short tails.


scion

From Middle English sion, sioun, syon, scion, cion, from Old French cion, ciun, cyon, sion, from Frankish *kīþō, *kīþ, from Proto-Germanic *kīþô, *kīþą, *kīþaz (“sprout”), from Proto-Indo-European *geye- (“to split open, sprout”), same source as Old English ċīþ (“a young shoot; sprout; germ; sprig”), Old Saxon kīth (“sprout; germ”), Old High German kīdi (“offshoot; sprout; germ”). See also French scion and Picard chion. Doublet of chit.

cog

[If] you finde a certaine miſlike or conſumption in the plant, you ſhall immediatly vvith a ſharp knife cut the plant off ſlope-vviſe upvvard, about three fingers from the ground, and ſo let it reſt till the next ſpring, at vvhich time you ſhall behold nevv cyons iſſue from the roote, […]

1613, G[ervase] M[arkham], “Of the Setting or Planting of the Cyons or Branches of Most Sorts of Fruit-trees”, in The English Husbandman. The First Part: […], London: […] T[homas] S[nodham] for Iohn Browne, […], →OCLC, 2nd part (Contayning the Art of Planting, Grafting and Gardening, […], page 132:

He used to think that the plums in this country weren’t good enough, and so he has reformed them, grafting scion to rootstock.

2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 681:

(botany) A detached shoot or twig containing buds from a woody plant, used in grafting; a shoot or twig in a general sense.


selective

en-adj

selective (comparative more selective, superlative most selective)

more selective (comparative)
most selective (superlative)

selective pressure

(biology) Of or relating to natural selection.


fragment

From Late Middle English fragment, from Latin fragmentum (“a fragment, remnant”), from frangō (“I break”) + -mentum.

der

asexual reproduction
asexual reproduction

(biology) A split piece of an organism that has undergone the asexual reproduction process where the organism spilts into one or more pieces, then those pieces become new individuals.


fragment

en-verb

fragment (third-person singular simple present fragments, present participle fragmenting, simple past and past participle fragmented)

fragments (present singular third-person)
fragmenting (participle present)
fragmented (participle past)
fragmented (past)

(intransitive, biology) Of an organism: to undergo the asexual reproduction process where an organism spilts into one or more pieces, then those pieces become new individuals.


folium

en-noun

folium (countable and uncountable, plural foliums or folia)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-folium.wav

From Latin folium (“leaf”). Doublet of foil and folio, distantly also with phyllo and phyllon.

The folium of silvatica has a row of oblique black markings along the edge on each side, while in angulata it is evenly notched.

1885, James Henry Emerton, New England Spiders of the Family Therididae - Volume 6, page 298:

Abdomen subovate to subtriangular, longer than wide, dorsum with an inverted Christmas tree-like folium of brown and chalk-white bands, cardiac area brown, serving as Christmas tree base.

1995, A. T. Barrion, J. A. Litsinger, Riceland Spiders of South and Southeast Asia, page 631:

The abdomen usually has a flattened anterior edge and its pattern, if present, lacks the folium of Xysticus and is much less structured.

2017, Lawrence Bee, Geoff Oxford, Helen Smith, Britain's Spiders: A Field Guide, page 371:

(zoology) A symmetric pattern on the abdomen of some spiders.


evolve

en-verb

evolve (third-person singular simple present evolves, present participle evolving, simple past and past participle evolved)

evolves (present singular third-person)
evolving (participle present)
evolved (participle past)
evolved (past)

Borrowed from Latin ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ē- (“out of”) (short form of ex) + volvō (“roll”).

How long ago did birds evolve beaks?

Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.

2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist, archived from the original on 2013-09-03:

Of a population: to acquire or develop (a trait) in the process of biological evolution.

A hundred thousand years from now, will Homo sapiens have evolved into beings unrecognizable to their ancestors?

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Recapitulation and Conclusion”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 490:

The ice age was nearly two million years old by the time the woolly mammoth evolved.

2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 204:

(chiefly passive voice) To cause (a population, a species, etc.) to change genetic composition over successive generations through the process of evolution.

How long ago did beaks evolve?

(biology) Of a trait; to develop within a population through biological evolution.


evolution

en-noun

evolution (countable and uncountable, plural evolutions)

extinction

antonym(s) of “survival through adaptation”

/ɛvəˈlʉːʃən/

Borrowed from Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōnis (“the act of unrolling, unfolding or opening (of a book)”), from ēvolūtus, perfect passive participle of ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ex + volvō (“roll”).
Compare typologically Czech vývoj, Serbo-Croatian развој, Russian разви́ть (razvítʹ), развива́ть (razvivátʹ), разви́ться (razvítʹsja), развива́ться (razvivátʹsja), Russian разви́тие (razvítije), related to Proto-Slavic *viti (whence Czech vít, Russian вить (vitʹ)).

تَطَوُّر

general: a gradual process of development

[…]and thus he [Lamarck] was inclined to assert the priority of the types of marine animals to those of the terrestrial, and to fancy, for example, that the testacea of the ocean existed first, until some of them, by gradual evolution, were improved into those inhabiting the land.

1832, Charles Lyell, chapter I, in Principles of Geology […] , volume II, London: John Murray, page 11:

[Some books have] made the erroneous assumption that the important thing in evolution is the good of the species (or the group) rather than the good of the individual (or the gene).

1976, Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene:

Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.

2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

(biology) The transformation of animals, plants and other living things into different forms (now understood as a change in genetic composition) by the accumulation of changes over successive generations.

evolusie

biology: change in the genetic composition of a population over time


transform

en-verb

transform (third-person singular simple present transforms, present participle transforming, simple past and past participle transformed)

transforms (present singular third-person)
transforming (participle present)
transformed (participle past)
transformed (past)
xform (alternative)

From Middle English transformen, from Old French transformer, from Latin transformo, transformare, from trans (“across”, preposition) + forma (“form”).

(transitive, genetics) To subject (a cell) to transformation.

transformieren

in genetics: subject (a cell) to transformation


transformation

en-noun

transformation (countable and uncountable, plural transformations)

Inherited from Middle English transformacioun, from Middle French, from Ecclesiastical Latin trānsfōrmātiō.
Morphologically transform + -ation

inh+

(genetics) The alteration of a bacterial cell caused by the transfer of DNA from another, especially if pathogenic.

muutos

genetics: alteration of a bacterial cell caused by the transfer of DNA


native

en-adj

native (comparative more native, superlative most native)

more native (comparative)
most native (superlative)
natiue (alternative obsolete)
natyf (alternative obsolete)

foreign

born or grown in the region in which it is found

Inherited from Middle English natif, from Old French natif, from Latin nātīvus, from nātus (“birth”). Doublet of naive and neif.

The naturalized Norway maple often outcompetes the native North American sugar maple.

(biology, of a species) Which occurs of its own accord in a given locality, to be contrasted with a species introduced by humans.

autokton

biology: which occurs of its own accord in a given locality


cleistogamy

From Ancient Greek κλειστός (kleistós, “closed”) + -gamy.

der

(botany) The production of flowers which do not open and are self-fertilized in the bud.

cleistogamia

the production of flowers which do not open, and are self-fertilized in the bud


dracaena

From the genus name Dracaena, from Latin dracaena, from Ancient Greek δράκαινᾰ (drákaină, “she-dragon”).

“Again with this?” I groaned to the dracaenae. (“Talk to them!” numerous readers advised.) The plants chuckled and shook their heads. No they didn’t. They’re plants!

2022 October 29, Melissa Kirsch, “Garden Varieties”, in The New York Times:

(botany) Any of the genus Dracaena of liliaceous plants with woody stems and funnel-shaped flowers.


lacerate

From Middle English laceraten, from Latin lacerātus, past participle of lacerō.

The bract at the base is dry and papery, often lacerate near its apex.

(botany) Jagged, as if torn or lacerated.


bilirubin

en-noun

bilirubin (countable and uncountable, plural bilirubins)

From international scientific vocabulary, from German Bilirubin. By surface analysis, bili- + rub- + -in. The German word was naturalized into other languages as international scientific vocabulary (e.g., bilirubin, bilirubine, bilirubina).

The doctors said this was very common, just her new-born liver catching up with the rest of her — the build-up of bilirubin in her blood. The substance red blood cells produce when broken down.

2022, Maddie Mortimer, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies, Picador, page 339:

(biochemistry) A bile pigment that is a product of the breakdown of the heme portion of hemoglobin (which occurs within macrophages as they digest red blood cells), and which is responsible for the yellowish color seen in bruises. Extremely high levels of bilirubin may cause jaundice.

bilirubin
international scientific vocabulary


breakdown

breakdown (countable and uncountable, plural breakdowns)

breakdowns (plural)
break-down (alternative)

sınma

failure, particularly one which is mechanical in nature

(veterinary medicine, uncountable) Injury to a horse's leg causing lameness; (countable) an instance of this.

jalkavamma

injury to a horse’s leg causing lameness; an instance of this


eccentric

en-adj

eccentric (comparative more eccentric, superlative most eccentric)

more eccentric (comparative)
most eccentric (superlative)
eccentrick (alternative)
excentric (alternative)
excentrick (alternative)

concentric

antonym(s) of “against the contraction of a muscle”

→ Japanese: エキセントリック (ekisentorikku)

From Middle French excentrique, from Medieval Latin eccentricus, from Ancient Greek ἔκκεντρος (ékkentros, “not having the earth as the center of an orbit”), from ἐκ (ek, “out”) + κέντρον (kéntron, “point”). Equivalent to ex- + -centric.

der

Oospores may be centric, subcentric, subeccentric or eccentric. Antheridial branches may or may not be present, and are androgynous, monoclinous, diclinous or hypogynous.

2014, Nicky B. Buller, Bacteria and Fungi From Fish and Other Aquatic Animals: A Practical Identification Manual, 2nd edition, Boston, M.A.: CABI, →ISBN, page 687:

(mycology) Having or being an oospore with a single large oil globule on one side that displaces much of the ooplasm and forces the ooplasts to one side.


macrophage

From macro- + -phage, both from Ancient Greek.

innate immune system
innate immune system

(immunology, cytology) A white blood cell that phagocytizes necrotic cell debris and foreign material, including viruses, bacteria, and tattoo ink. It presents foreign antigens on MHC II to lymphocytes. Part of the innate immune system.


nerve

Recorded since circa 1374 as Middle English nerve, from Medieval Latin nervus (“nerve”), from Latin nervus (“sinew”). Doublet of neuron and sinew.

Some plants have ornamental value because of their contrasting nerves.

(botany) A vein in a leaf; a grain in wood.


ruminate

First attested in 1800, in the writings of John Hull; borrowed from Latin rūminātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

a ruminate endosperm

(botany) Having a hard albumen penetrated by irregular channels filled with softer matter, as the nutmeg and the seeds of the North American papaw.


sheath

From Middle English sheth, shethe (“holder for a sword, knife, etc., scabbard, sheath”) [and other forms], from Old English sċēaþ (“sheath”), from Proto-West Germanic *skaiþiju, from Proto-Germanic *skaiþiz (“sheath; covering”), from Proto-Indo-European *skey- (“to dissect, split”) (possibly from the notion of a split stick with a sword inserted).
The English word is cognate with Danish skede, Dutch schede, Icelandic skeið, German Scheide, Low German scheed, Norwegian skjede.

nb...

chethe, scǽð, scaþ, schede, schete, scheth, schethe, seaþ, seeth, seth, sethe, shæþ, shede, sheethe, sheith, (Southwest) ssethe, sseþe, (early forms) scæðe, scaþe, seaþe

der

(botany) The base of a leaf when sheathing or investing a branch or stem, as in grasses.

(entomology) One of the elytra of an insect.

(zoology) The foreskin of certain animals (for example, dogs and horses).


connective

For connexive, borrowed from Latin connexīvus. Displacement of x by ct in Latin loanwords is very common. Compare connect, connectivum, connection.

(botany) The tissue which connects the locules of an anthers together.


present

en-verb

present (third-person singular simple present presents, present participle presenting, simple past and past participle presented)

presents (present singular third-person)
presenting (participle present)
presented (participle past)
presented (past)
præsent (alternative archaic)
ps. (alternative abbreviation)

From Middle English presenten, from Old French presenter, from Latin praesentāre (“to show”), from praesent-, praesens, present participle of praeesse (“be in front of”).

(intransitive, zoology) To display one's female genitalia in a way that signals to others that one is ready for copulation. Also referred to as lordosis behaviour.


heme

en-noun

heme (countable and uncountable, plural hemes)

hemes (plural)
haem (alternative UK)
haeme (alternative UK)

The binding of oxygen to the iron molecule causes the hemoglobin molecule to undergo conformational changes that affect the binding of oxygen to other heme sites.

2008, John Greer, John Foerster, George Rodgers, Fixos Paraskevas, Bertil Glader, Daniel Arber, Robert Means Jr, Wintrobe's Clinical Hematology: Volume One: Twelfth Edition, page 141

Impossible's breakthrough was in discovering that meat's essence comes from heme—the iron-rich molecule in blood that carries oxygen and is responsible for the deep-red color.

2018, Ruth Reichl, Silvia Killingsworth, The Best American Food Writing 2018, Mariner Books, →ISBN, page 152:

(biochemistry) The component of hemoglobin (and other hemoproteins) responsible for binding oxygen. It consists of an iron ion that binds oxygen and a porphyrin ring that binds the globin molecules; one molecule binds one molecule of oxygen.


nondescript

en-adj

nondescript (comparative more nondescript, superlative most nondescript)

more nondescript (comparative)
most nondescript (superlative)
non-descript (alternative)

From non- + descript (from Latin dēscrīptus, past participle of dēscrībō).

(biology, now rare) Not described (in the academic literature).


nondescript

nondescripts (plural)
non-descript (alternative)

Imagination has given figure and character to centaurs, satyrs, and down to all the fairy tribe; but titles baffle even the powers of fancy, and are a chimerical non-descript.

(chiefly biology) A species or other type of creature that has not been previously described or identified.


trans

Borrowed from Latin trāns (“on the other side of”). Doublet of très.

bor+

endoplasmic reticulum
endoplasmic reticulum

(cytology) Of the side of the Golgi apparatus farther from the endoplasmic reticulum.


vagina

en-noun

vagina (plural vaginas or vaginae or (obsolete) vaginæ)

vaginas (plural)
vaginae (plural)
vaginæ (obsolete plural)

Etymology tree
Proto-Italic *wāgīnā
Latin vāgīnalbor.
English vagina
Learned borrowing from Latin vāgīna (“a sheath, scabbard; a covering, sheath, holder”).

lbor

زهگیر sg (zehgir, literally “semen-gatherer”)

(anatomy) A sex organ leading from the vulval vestibule/urogenital sinus to the cervix of the uterus for copulation and birth in female therian mammals.

(zootomy) A similar part in some invertebrates and non-mammalian amniotes.

(botany) A sheathlike structure, such as the leaf of a grass that surrounds a stem.


caulis

Learned borrowing from Latin caulis. Doublet of cole, gobi, and kale.

(botany) The stalk of a plant, especially a herbaceous stem in its natural state.


cauline

(botany) Growing immediately on a caulis, the main stem of a plant; of or pertaining to a caulis.

caulinar

growing immediately on a caulis; of or pertaining to a caulis


phase

From New Latin phasis, from Ancient Greek φάσις (phásis, “an appearance”), from φάω (pháō, “to shine”); compare phantasm and see face.

der

(zoology) In certain organisms, one of two or more colour variations characteristic of the species, but independent of the ordinary seasonal and sexual differences, and often also of age.


phase

en-verb

phase (third-person singular simple present phases, present participle phasing, simple past and past participle phased)

phases (present singular third-person)
phasing (participle present)
phased (participle past)
phased (past)

(genetics, informal, transitive) To determine haplotypes in (data) when genotypes are known.


pleat

From Middle English, from a variant of plait, from Old French pleit. Doublet of plait.

(botany) A fold in an organ, usually a longitudinal fold in a long leaf such as that of palmetto, lending it stiffness.


aculeate

en-adj

aculeate (comparative more aculeate, superlative most aculeate)

more aculeate (comparative)
most aculeate (superlative)

(entomology) Having a stinger; stinging.


aculeus

Many plants, like many animals, are furnished with arms for their protection; these are either aculei, prickles, as in rose and barberry, which are formed from the outer bark of the plant; or spinæ, thorns […].

1789, Erasmus Darwin, The Loves of the Plants, J. Johnson, page 15:

(botany) A sharp spike or other projection growing on a plant, as in some brambles and roses.


acuminate

acuminate (comparative more acuminate, superlative most acuminate)

more acuminate (comparative)
most acuminate (superlative)
accuminate (alternative)

From Late Latin acuminatus, past participle of acuminare (“to sharpen to a point”).

(botany, mycology) Tapering to a long point in concave manner at its apex.

pitkäsuippuinen

botany, mycology: tapering to a long point in concave manner


acutangular

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-acutangular.wav

an acutangular stem


acutifoliate

From Latin acutifolius, from acutus (“sharp”) + folium (“leaf”).


axillary

Alteration by association with -ary of the French axillaire (“of the axilla”), itself an alteration of the earlier forms aisselliere and aissellaire, both from the assumed Latin etymon *axillāris, from axilla (“armpit”), diminutive form of the assumed *axula.

(botany) Situated in, or rising from, an axil; relating to an axil.


axilla

Borrowed from Latin axilla (“side, armpit”). Doublet of axil.

(entomology) The area that is located posterior to the transscutal articulation and anterior to the scutoscutellar suture.

(botany, uncommon) Alternative form of axil.


axil

Near-synonyms: crotch, fork

Black crowberry. Empetrum nigrum. Crowberry Family. Fruit. — The black drupe is berrylike, globular, and incloses six to nine seedlike nutlets with a seed in each. The calyx is at the base and the stigma is at the apex. The drupes are solitary in the leaf axils. They are juicy, acid, edible, and serve as food for the Arctic birds.

1905, Maude Gridley Peterson, How to Know Wild Fruits: A Guide to Plants When Not in Flower by Means of Fruit and Leaf (in English), Macmillan, page 202:

(botany) The angle or point of divergence between the upper side of a branch, leaf, or petiole, and the stem or branch from which it springs.


axial

axial (comparative more axial, superlative most axial)

more axial (comparative)
most axial (superlative)
axical (alternative)

The secondary xylem usually consists of axial and radial elements.

(botany) In the same direction as the axis, parallel to the axis.

aksiaalinen

botany: in the same direction as the axis


axial

(ornithology) A flight feather that appears between the primaries and secondaries on some birds.


awl

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-awl.wav

From Middle English aul, alle, al, from Old English æl, from Proto-West Germanic *al, from Proto-Germanic *alaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ólos. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Äil (“awl”), Dutch aal (“awl”), German Low German Ahl (“awl”), German Ahle (“awl”), Icelandic alur (“awl”). Spelling was influenced by the Old English synonym awel, awul (“awl”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahwal, from Proto-Germanic *ahwalaz (“fork, hook”), of unknown origin. Doublet of elsen.

(entomology) Any of various hesperiid butterflies.


avenious

(botany) Being without veins or nerves, as the leaves of certain plants.


avidity

en-noun

avidity (usually uncountable, plural avidities)

From Middle English avidite, from Old French avidite (modern French avidité), from Latin aviditās (“avidity, covetousness”), equivalent to avid + -ity.

der

(biochemistry) The measure of the synergism of the strength of individual interactions between proteins.


palate

From Middle English palate, from Latin palātum (“roof of the mouth, palate”), perhaps of Etruscan origin.

bor

(anatomy) The roof of the mouth, separating the cavities of the mouth and nose in vertebrates.

(zoology) A part associated with the mouth of certain invertebrates, somewhat analogous to the palate of vertebrates.

(entomology, rare) The hypopharynx of an insect.

(botany) A projection in the throat of certain bilabiate flowers as the snapdragon.


specter

specters (plural)
spectre (alternative Commonwealth English)

From Middle French spectre, from Latin spectrum (“appearance, apparition”). Doublet of spectrum.

der

(entomology) Any of certain species of dragonfly of the genus Boyeria, family Aeshnidae. [from 20th c.]


forget-me-not

Calque of Middle French ne m'oubliez mie or German Vergissmeinnicht.

calque

(entomology) Any of various light-blue coloured lycaenid butterflies of the Asian and Australasian genus Catochrysops, especially Catochrysops strabo native to India and Southeast Asia.


prolific

en-adj

prolific (comparative more prolific, superlative most prolific)

more prolific (comparative)
most prolific (superlative)
prolifick (alternative)

1640–1650: from French prolifique, from Latin proles (“offspring”) and facere (“to make”).

(botany) Of a flower: from which another flower is produced.


nutcracker

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nutcracker.wav

(ornithology) Any bird of the genus Nucifraga in the crow family.


casque

Borrowed from French casque. Doublet of casco and cask.


skeleton

skeletons (plural)
skeleta (plural)
sceleton (alternative)

From New Latin sceleton, from Ancient Greek σκελετόν (skeletón), the neuter of σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up, withered, dried body, parched, mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “dry, dry up, make dry, parch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”); compare Ancient Greek σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”).

der

However interesting the skeleton of a leaf that has been bleached by nature may be, it cannot be alleged to be beautiful in colour, and therefore it is not of much value for the purposes of household decoration.

1870, Robert Kemp Philp, Best of everything, by the author of 'Enquire within'., page 336:

Rather than abstracting the leaf from the outline of the leaf, I can begin by working from the skeleton of the leaf.

2010, Ruth B. McDowell, Piecing: Expanding The Basics:

This is going to get rid of all the green leafy debris sticking to the skeleton of the leaf and you are going to find a really attractive fiber network of your leaf.

2016, Dueep Jyot Singh, John Davidson, Mendon Cottage Books, Skeleton Leaves - Preserving Leaves for Everlasting Beauty, page 10:

(botany) The network of veins in a leaf.


range

Japanese: レンジ (renji)

Korean: 레인지 (reinji)

From Middle English rengen, from Old French rengier (“to range, to rank, to order,”), from the noun renc, reng, ranc, rang (“a rank, row”), from Frankish *hring, from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“ring, circle, curve”). Doublet of ring.

(ecology) The geographical area or zone where a species is normally naturally found.


range

en-verb

range (third-person singular simple present ranges, present participle ranging, simple past and past participle ranged)

ranges (present singular third-person)
ranging (participle present)
ranged (participle past)
ranged (past)

The peba ranges from Texas to Paraguay.

(biology) To be native to, or live in, a certain district or region.

olla kotoisin

to be native to, or live in, a certain region


column

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-column.wav

From Middle English columne, columpne, columpe, borrowed from Old French columne, from Latin columna (“a column, pillar, post”), originally a collateral form of columen, contraction culmen (“a pillar, top, crown, summit”). Akin to Latin collis (“a hill”), celsus (“high”), probably to Ancient Greek κολοφών (kolophṓn, “top, summit”).

cog

a little from column A and a little from column B


WAP

en-noun

WAP (countable and uncountable, plural WAPs)

whey acidic protein
whey acidic protein#English

(biochemistry) Initialism of whey acidic protein.


determinant

Borrowed from French déterminant, equivalent to determine + -ant.

(biology) A substance that causes a cell to adopt a particular fate.

(genetics) Something that causes a nuclease to cut at a specified point


bleach

en-verb

bleach (third-person singular simple present bleaches, present participle bleaching, simple past and past participle bleached)

bleaches (present singular third-person)
bleaching (participle present)
bleached (participle past)
bleached (past)

From Middle English blechen, from Old English blǣċan (“to bleach, whiten”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaikijan, from Proto-Germanic *blaikijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- (“to shine”).
Cognate with Dutch bleken (“to bleach”), German bleichen (“to bleach”), Danish blege, Swedish bleka (“to bleach”). Related to Old English blāc (“pale”) (English blake; compare also bleak).

inh

Once coral bleaching begins, corals tend to continue to bleach even if the stressor is removed.

(intransitive, biology, of corals) To lose color due to stress-induced expulsion of symbiotic unicellular algae.


bladder

bladders (plural)
blather (alternative Scotland)
blether (alternative Scotland)

From Middle English bladdre, bleddre, bladder, bledder, from Old English blæddre, a variant of blǣdre, blēdre (“blister, bladder”), from Proto-West Germanic *blādrā, from Proto-Germanic *blēdrǭ, *bladrǭ (“blister, bladder”).

urogenital sinus - embryological precursor

(zoology) A flexible sac that can expand and contract and that holds liquids or gases.

(botany) A hollow, inflatable organ of a plant.


beak

en-noun

beak (countable and uncountable, plural beaks)

beaks (plural)
beck (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English bec, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bec, Old French bec, from Latin beccus, from Gaulish *bekkos, from Proto-Celtic *bekkos (“beak, snout”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bak-, *baḱ- (“pointed stick, peg”). Cognate with Breton beg (“beak”). Compare Saterland Frisian Bäk (“mouth; muzzle; beak”); Dutch bek (“beak; bill; neb”).

cog

(botany) Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant.

(entomology) Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Libythea, notable for the beak-like elongation on their heads.


carnivore

Borrowed from French carnivore, from Latin carnivorus. In the zoological sense, coined by William Whewell in 1840 as an adaptation of Cuvier's coinage, French carnivore.

The panda and the panther are both carnivores.

(zoology) A mammal belonging to the order Carnivora.


sorbitol

en-noun

sorbitol (countable and uncountable, plural sorbitols)

From earlier sorbite (from sorb + -ite) + -ol. By surface analysis, sorb + -itol.

(biochemistry) A faintly sweet alcohol C₆H₁₄O₆ that occurs in some fruits, is made synthetically, and is used especially as a humectant and softener and in making ascorbic acid.


founder

From Old French fondeur, from Latin fundātor, equivalent to found + -er.

etymid

establisher, from _fundo_ as pour-melt-etc

kantaisä

someone for whose parents one has no data

a founder population

the founder effect

The sickle cell mutation today can be found in five different haplotypes, leading to the conclusion that the mutation appeared independently five times in five different founders.

2006 June 1, Dennis Drayna, “Founder Mutations”, in Scientific American, New York, N.Y.: Springer Nature America, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-07:

Among the Ashkenazi Jews in the positive group, 81 percent had one of the three founder mutations, suggesting that 23andMe's test could be helpful for them.

2019 April 16, Heather Murphy, “Don’t Count on 23andMe to Detect Most Breast Cancer Risks, Study Warns”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-10-13:

The gene mutation is likely to have come from a founder individual who lived at least 250 years ago, the paper published in the European Journal of Human Genetics said.

2023 March 16, Nadeem Badshah, “One in a hundred people with Orkney heritage have gene increasing risk of cancer”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-08-05:

(genetics) A common ancestor of some population (especially one with a certain genetic mutation).


founder

From Middle French fondrer (“send to the bottom”), from Latin fundus (“bottom”).

uder

(veterinary medicine) A severe laminitis of a horse, caused by untreated internal inflammation in the hooves.


dark matter

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-dark matter.wav

dark matter
en:Fritz Zwicky
en:Vera Rubin

Calque of German Dunkle Materie, from dunkel (“dark”) and Materie (“matter”). Coined by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in German in 1933, to account for the apparent mass needed to account for galaxy clusters, where the mass of luminous matter did not add up to enough of a gravitational effect, inferring nonluminous matter must exist to account for the missing mass. The term gained new popularity due to the missing mass found in galaxies to account for galaxy rotation curves discovered by Vera Rubin in research published in English in the 1970s.

(biology, informal) Unclassified or poorly understood genetic material.


clone

→ Italian: clone

→ Polish: klon

→ Turkish: klon

Coined (in botany) in 1903, based on Ancient Greek κλών (klṓn, “twig”). Figurative use from the 1970s.

(cytology) A group of identical cells derived from a single cell.


pod

Origin uncertain. Perhaps from Middle English *pod ("seed-pod, husk, shell, outer covering"; attested in pod-ware (“legume seed; seed grain”)), itself possibly from Old English pād (“an outer garment, covering, coat, cloak”), from Proto-West Germanic *paidu, from Proto-Germanic *paidō (“coat, smock, shirt”), from Proto-Indo-European *baiteh₂- (“woolen clothes”). If so, then cognate with Old Saxon pēda (“skirt”), German dialectal Pfeid, Pfeit (“shirt”), Gothic 𐍀𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰 (paida, “mantle, skirt”), and perhaps Albanian petk (“gown, garment, dress, suit”) and Ancient Greek βαίτη (baítē, “goat-skin, fur-coat, tent”).

unc

uncertain

gloss

"seed-pod, husk, shell, outer covering"; attested in <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">pod-ware</i> (“legume seed; seed grain”)

ncog

(botany) A seed case for legumes (e.g. peas, beans, peppers); a seedpod.

(collective, zoology) A group of whales, dolphins, seals, porpoises or hippopotami.


oblique

en-adj

oblique (comparative obliquer, superlative obliquest)

obliquer (comparative)
obliquest (superlative)

From Middle French oblique, from Latin oblīquus (also spelled oblīcus) (“slanting, sideways, indirect, envious”).

uder

Leaves long, lanceolate, tapering upward from the middle to an acute point, […] secondaries very oblique, distinct, alternate, parallel, curved in transversing the blade

1892, Leo Lesquereux, The Flora of the Dakota Group, page 78:

(botany, of leaves) Having the base of the blade asymmetrical, with one side lower than the other.

Oblique and sinker roots will normally be under a greater compression stress than lateral roots.

1997, A. Stokes, D. Guitard, “Tree Root Response to Mechanical Stress”, in Arie Altman, Yoav Waisel, editors, Biology of Root Formation and Development, page 233:

(botany, of branches or roots) Growing at an angle that is neither vertical nor horizontal.


keel

From Middle English kele, from Old Norse kjǫlr, itself from Proto-Germanic *keluz, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English ċēol from a related root. Distantly related to kile.

Metanotum shining, indistinctly punctured at the base in the centre, the sides closely punctured; the areola large, obliquely narrowed at the base, its apex open, there are 2 lateral areas, both widely open at the base on the outerside; the posterior median area bears about 10 stout, transverse keels; on its apical outerside is a triangular area; the spiracular is bounded on the outerside by a distinct keel.

1906, Records of the Albany Museum - Volume 1, page 314:

(zoology) The periphery of a whorl extended to form a more or less flattened plate; a prominent spiral ridge.

Vegetatively it is the nearest to H. translucens with its oblong-lanceolate leaves, with the margins and keel beset with pellucid teeth, but it differs and is characterised by the greyish-black quadrantly positioned globose flowers; […]

1985, Charles L. Scott, The Genus Haworthia (Liliaceae): A Taxonomic Revision, page 80:

(botany) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and enclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina.


clava

(entomology) The fused distal segments of the antenna of a chalcid wasp.


primate

First attested in 1876. From French primate, from the substantivization of Latin prīmās, prīmātis (“one of the first, chief, excellent, noble”), same as Etymology 2. So named due to the belief that primates are the highest order of mammals or animals.

der

Primates range from lemurs to gorillas.

(zoology) A mammal of the order Primates, including apes (which include humans), monkeys, lemurs, tarsiers, lorisids, and galagos.


section

From Middle English seccioun, from Old French section, from Latin sectiō (“cutting, cutting off, excision, amputation of diseased parts of the body, etc.”), from sectus, past participle of secāre (“to cut”). More at saw.

разрэ́з

surgery: incision or the act of making an incision

(botany) A taxonomic rank below the genus (and subgenus if present), but above the species.

(zoology) An informal taxonomic rank below the order ranks and above the family ranks.


frame

→ Korean: 프레임 (peureim)

→ Swahili: fremu

From Middle English frame (“profit, benefit, advantage; a structure composed according to a plan”), from the verb (above) and also from Old Norse frami (“advantage, fame, bravery, efficiency, privilege, honor”); and frame (“a framework or structure of any kind”) which is of uncertain origin. The latter is usually regarded as a derivative of former; however, compare the rare Anglo-Norman and Old French frame, fraine (“frame, framework”), itself of uncertain origin, which might be a borrowing from the English, from the Norse, or even possibly ultimately from Frankish *hramu (“frame”) related to Dutch raam (“window frame”).

der

(genetics, "reading frame") A way of dividing nucleotide sequences into a set of consecutive triplets.


jugular

/ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.jʊl.ə/

/ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.jəl.ɚ/

/ˈd͡ʒʌɡ.əl.ɚ/

Late 16th century borrowing from Late Latin jugulāris, from jugulum (“the collarbone; the hollow part of the neck above the collarbone; the throat”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to jugulum + -ar.

af

(zootomy, of fish) Having ventral fins attached under the throat.


blockade

From block + -ade, probably after Dutch blocquade (now blokkade) or German Blockade.

blockage

nearly synonymous, but not interchangeably; blockade usually denotes human agency

beta-blockade

chemical messengers
chemical messenger#English

(biology, medicine) Inhibition of the activity (function) of chemical messengers or their receptors, such as (often) receptor antagonism.


costa

Unadapted borrowing from Latin costa (“a rib”). Doublet of coast.

ubor

(botany, zootomy) A riblike part of a plant or animal, such as a midrib of a leaf or a thickened vein or the margin of an insect wing.

(entomology) The vein forming the leading edge of most insect wings.


polyandry

en-noun

polyandry (usually uncountable, plural polyandries)

(zoology) The mating pattern whereby a female copulates with plural males.


nursery

nursery (countable and uncountable, plural nurseries)

Carolina Stanley
Fritz von Uhde
Kunsthalle Hamburg
María Eugenia Vidal

From Middle English noricerie, norserye (“children's nursery; state of being fostered or nursed; education, upbringing”) [and other forms], from Old French norricerie, nourricerie, from norrice, nourrice (modern French nourrice (“childminder, nanny; wet nurse”)) + -erie (suffix forming feminine nouns). Norrice and nourrice are derived from Late Latin nūtrīcia (“wet nurse”), from Latin nūtrīcius (“that nurses or suckles; nourishing”), from nūtriō (“to breastfeed, nurse, suckle”), possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₂- (“to flow”). The English word may be analysed as nourice, nurse + -ery (suffix forming nouns meaning ‘place of’).

refn

From the collection of the Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.

nb...

norceri, norcerie, norcery, norcerye, norisri, norisrie, norisserie, norisserye, norserie, norserye, norsheri, norshery, norysrye, nursery

де́тска я́сла

place where nursing or the raising of children is carried out

разса́дник

(countable, also figuratively) A place where anything is fostered and growth promoted.

(agriculture, zoology) A place where animals breed, or where young animals are naturally or artificially reared (for example, on a farm).


pouch

From Middle English pouche, poche, borrowed from Old Northern French pouche, from Old French poche, puche (whence French poche; compare also the Anglo-Norman variant poke), of Germanic origin: from Frankish *poka (“pouch”) (compare Middle Dutch poke, Old English pohha, dialectal German Pfoch). Doublet of poke; compare pocket.

(zoology) An organic pocket in which a marsupial carries its young.

trastë

(botany) A silicle, or short pod, as of the shepherd's purse.


rank

en-noun

rank (countable and uncountable, plural ranks)

From Middle English rank (“line, row”), from Old French ranc, rang, reng (“line, row, rank”) (Modern French rang), from Frankish *hring (“ring”), from Proto-Germanic *hringaz (“something bent or curved”).
Akin to Old High German (h)ring, Old Frisian hring, Old English hring, hrincg (“ring”), Old Norse hringr (“ring, circle, queue, sword; ship”). Doublet of ring and rink.

cog

Phylum is the taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class.

(taxonomy) A level in a scientific taxonomy system.


selection

en-noun

selection (countable and uncountable, plural selections)

From Latin sēlēctiō (“the act of choosing out, selection”), from sēlēctus, perfect passive participle of sēligō (“choose out, select”), from sē- (“apart”) + legō (“gather, select”).

der

(biology) The stage of a genetic algorithm in which individual genomes are chosen from a population for later breeding. ᵂᵖ

Slow though the process of selection may be, if feeble man can do much by his powers of artificial selection, I can see no limit to the amount of change, to the beauty and infinite complexity of the coadaptations between all organic beings, one with another and with their physical conditions of life, which may be effected in the long course of time by nature’s power of selection.

1859 November 24, Charles Darwin, “Natural Selection”, in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, […], London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 109:

natural selection
natural selection#English

(biology) Ellipsis of natural selection.


population

Borrowed from Late Latin populatio (“a people, multitude”), as if a noun of action from Classical Latin populus, equivalent to populate + -ion. Doublet of poblacion.

bor+

invånarantal (often expressed as "har X invånare" instead)

A seasonal migration annually changes the populations in two or more biotopes drastically, many twice in opposite senses.

Within and among populations of grindelias, some morphologic traits appear to vary more from plant to plant than in most genera of composites.

2006, Flora of North America, North of Mexico:

Plant breeding is always a numbers game.[…]The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.

2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:

The tunnel was retired from operational service on September 3 1966. Since then, like many other tunnels, it has been left unused and unloved, apart from by the resident bat population.

2023 November 29, Peter Plisner, “The winds of change in Catesby Tunnel”, in RAIL, number 997, page 56:

(biology) A collection of organisms of a particular species, sharing a particular characteristic of interest, most often that of living in a given area.


skullcap

skullcaps (plural)
skull cap (alternative)
skull-cap (alternative)

(botany) Any of several species of flowering plants of the genus Scutellaria, in the Lamiaceae family.


tag

From Middle English tagge (“small piece hanging from a garment”), probably of North Germanic origin. Compare Norwegian tagg (“point; prong; barb; tag”), Swedish tagg (“thorn; prickle; tine”), Icelandic tág (“a willow-twig”). Compare also tack.

cog

(biochemistry) Any short peptide sequence artificially attached to proteins mostly in order to help purify, solubilize or visualize these proteins.

merkkipeptidi

biochemistry: short peptide sequence artificially attached to proteins


affinity

en-noun

affinity (countable and uncountable, plural affinities)

From Middle English affinite, from Old French affinité. Ostensibly equivalent to affine + -ity.

(taxonomy) Resemblances between biological populations, suggesting that they have a common origin, type or stock.


juglandaceous

en-adj

juglandaceous (comparative more juglandaceous, superlative most juglandaceous)

more juglandaceous (comparative)
most juglandaceous (superlative)

The fossil was evidently juglandaceous.

(botany, relational) Of or relating to Juglandaceae.


bidental

The letter proceeds to state that, besides this monster, there is a great variety of remains of another new order of animals, which Mr. Bain has deginated as bidentals, from their possessing only two teeth, or rather tusks, in the upper jaw, and none whatever in the lower jaw.

1845, The Church of England Magazine, volume 18:

That these Bidentals, as Mr. Owen more comprehensively calls them, are amongst the earliest reptiles, has been somewhat rashly assumed.

1851, Robert Chambers, Vestiges of the natural history of creation, page 305:

It was in this area, as well, that he found, among other creatures, his first Dicynodon, one of those famous mammal-like reptiles that he called bidentals because they had only two tusks in the upper jaw and no teeth.

1978, Eve Palmer, The Companion Guide to South Africa, page 242:

(zoology) An organism that has only two teeth, especially a dinosaur of the infraorder Dicynodontia.


velar

Borrowed from Latin vēlāris, from vēlum (“sail; veil, awning”).

(mycology) Referring to a veil or velum.


transpire

en-verb

transpire (third-person singular simple present transpires, present participle transpiring, simple past and past participle transpired)

transpires (present singular third-person)
transpiring (participle present)
transpired (participle past)
transpired (past)

Borrowed from Middle French transpirer, from Medieval Latin transpirare (“to breathe through”), from Latin trans (“across”) spirare (“to breathe”). The sense “to become known” is also present in French, while the sense “to happen” is not; the latter probably developed in English from the former.

der

(botany, intransitive) Of plants, to give off water and waste products through the stomata.

transpirar

botany: to give off water and waste products through the stomata


spur

From Middle English spure, spore, from Old English spora, spura, from Proto-West Germanic *spurō, from Proto-Germanic *spurô, from Proto-Indo-European *sperH- (“to kick”).

(botany) A short thin side shoot from a branch, especially one that bears fruit or, in conifers, the shoots that bear the leaves.


embryo

embryos (plural)
embryones (plural)
embrio (alternative)
embryo (alternative)
embryones (alternative)
embrio’s (alternative)
embrioes (alternative)
embryos (alternative)
embrioun (alternative)
embrion (alternative)
embryon (alternative)
embrions (alternative)
embryons (alternative)
embryon (alternative)
embryons (alternative)
embrya (alternative)

Borrowed from Medieval Latin embryō, from Ancient Greek ἔμβρυον (émbruon, “fetus”), from ἐν (en, “in-”) + βρύω (brúō, “I grow, swell”). Possibly related to Hebrew עֻבָּר (“fetus, embryo”) (ʊbar).

embrion

fertilized egg before developing into a fetus

(botany) A rudimentary plant contained in the seed.

kiemplant

botany: rudimentary plant contained in the seed


quiescent

en-adj

quiescent (comparative more quiescent, superlative most quiescent)

more quiescent (comparative)
most quiescent (superlative)

Learned borrowing from Latin quiēscēns, quiēscentem.


blast

From Ancient Greek βλαστός (blastós, “germ or sprout”).

der

(cytology) An immature or undifferentiated cell (e.g., lymphoblast, myeloblast).


blast

en-verb

blast (third-person singular simple present blasts, present participle blasting, simple past and past participle blasted)

blasts (present singular third-person)
blasting (participle present)
blasted (participle past)
blasted (past)
BLAST (alternative)

From BLAST (an acronym for Basic Local Alignment Search Tool).

Blasting nucleotide sequences is not always that easy, because there is more ambiguity to the nucleotide sequence, and good hits have to have a 70% homology over the whole sequence to be reliable, compared to 25% with proteins.

2004, Andreas Bommarius, Bettina Riebel-Bommarius, Biocatalysis: Fundamentals and Applications, page 425:

(biology, informal, transitive) To run a nucleotide sequence (for nucleic acids) or an amino acid sequence (for proteins) through a BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool).


realm

From Middle English rewme, realme, reaume, from Old French reaume, realme, reialme (“kingdom”), of unclear origins. A postulated *rēgālimen (“domain, kingdom”), Late Latin or Vulgar Latin cross of regimen with rēgālis is usually cited.
The modern spelling predominates from around 1600. The modern pronunciation with /l/ is either a spelling pronunciation or influenced by the etymology.

(biology, ecology) A primary zoogeographical division of the earth's surface.

(virology, taxonomy) A taxonomic rank in the phylogeny of viruses, higher than kingdoms.


virgin

From Middle English virgine, from Old French virgine, from Latin virginem, accusative of virgō. Doublet of Virgo. Displaced native Old English fǣmne.

(entomology) A female insect producing eggs from which young are hatched, though there has been no fecundation by a male; a parthenogenetic insect.


recapitulation

en-noun

recapitulation (countable and uncountable, plural recapitulations)

recapitulations (plural)
re-capitulation (alternative dated)

re·kə·pĭ·chə·lāʹshən

From Anglo-Norman recapitulaciun et al., Middle French recapitulacion et al., or their source, from Late Latin recapitulatio (“summing up, summary”), from the participle stem of recapitulare (“recapitulate”), from re- + capitulum (“chapter, section”), diminutive of caput (“head”).

der

(biology) The reenactment of the embryonic development in evolution of the species.


temporal

From Middle English, from Middle French timporal, temporal, from Late Latin temporālis, from tempora (“the temples of the head”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of temporalis.

af

(zootomy) Any of a reptile's scales on the side of the head between the parietal and supralabial scales, and behind the postocular scales.


birdsong

en-noun

birdsong (countable and uncountable, plural birdsongs)

birdsongs (plural)
bird song (alternative)

(ornithology) A vocalisation made by a bird, more complex than a call, for purposes associated with courtship and territory.


adjutant

From Latin adiūtō, frequentative of adiuvō (“assist”). First attested in 17th century. Or from Latin adiuvāns, present participle of adiuvō, from iuvō (“help”). Doublet of adjuvant.

Aquatic birds of various kinds are very numerous, such as geese, darters (Plotus melanogaster), scissor-bills (Rhynchops nigra), adjutants (Leptoptilos argala), pelicans, cormorants, cranes (Grus antigone, in Burmese gyoja), whimbrels, plovers, and ibises.

1876, "Burmah" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., Vol. IV, p. 552

(zoology) Any bird of the genus Leptoptilos, a branch of the stork family (Ciconiidae) native to India and Southeast Asia.


station

→ Hindi: स्टेशन (sṭeśan)

→ Irish: stáisiún

→ Malay: stesen

desc

ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ (sṭeśan)

→ Punjabi: سٹیشن/ਸਟੇਸ਼ਨ (sṭeśan)

→ Scottish Gaelic: stèisean

→ Swahili: stesheni

→ Urdu: سْٹیشَن (sṭeśan), اِسْٹیشَن (isṭeśan)

From Middle English stacioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman estation, from Latin statiōnem, accusative of statiō (“standing, post, job, position”), whence also Italian stazione. Doublet of stagione. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἵστημι (hístēmi), στάσις (stásis), Old English standan (whence English stand).

(biology) The particular place, or kind of situation, in which a species naturally occurs; a habitat.


supreme

en-adj

supreme (comparative supremer or more supreme, superlative supremest or most supreme)

supremer (comparative)
more supreme (comparative)
supremest (superlative)
most supreme (superlative)
suprême (alternative)

From Middle English suppreme, partly from Middle French suppreme, supreme and partly from its etymon, Latin suprēmus, superlative of superus (“that is above”). Doublet of supremo.

(botany) Situated at the highest part or point.


mortality

en-noun

mortality (countable and uncountable, plural mortalities)

From Old French mortalite, from Latin mortālitās, from mortālis (“relating to death”), from mors (“death”); equivalent to mortal + -ity.

In foundling hospitals, and among the children brought up by parish charities the mortality is still greater than among those of the common people.

1776 March 9, Adam Smith, chapter VIII, in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. […], volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Strahan; and T[homas] Cadell, […], →OCLC, book I (Of the Causes of Improvement in the Productive Powers of Labour, […]), page 97:

Some of the objects of enquiry would be […] what was the comparative mortality among the children of the most distressed part of the community, and those who lived rather more at their ease […]

1798, Thomas Malthus, chapter 2, in An Essay on the Principle of Population, London: J. Johnson, pages 32–33:

And, even in peace and at home, what was the sanitary condition of the Army? The mortality in the barracks was, she found, nearly double the mortality in civil life.

1918 May 9, Lytton Strachey, “[Florence Nightingale.] Chapter X”, in Eminent Victorians: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Dr. Arnold, General Gordon (Library of English Literature; LEL 11347), London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 146:

[…] a drought year brought conditions especially favorable to the beetle and the mortality of elms went up 1000 per cent.

1962, Rachel Carson, chapter 8, in Silent Spring, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, page 114:

By studying mortality rates and pollution statistics in 90 Chinese cities, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Israel and China discovered that air pollution from burning coal in north China, defined as above the Huai River, with a population of around 500 million people, was 55% higher than in the south.

2013 July 9, Calum MacLeod, “In China, air pollution report brings despair, humor”, in USA Today, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2013-07-10:

The number of deaths; and, usually and especially, the number of deaths per time unit (usually per year), expressed as a rate.

(biology, ecology, demography, insurance) The number of deaths per given unit of population over a given period of time.


immortality

immortality (countable and uncountable, plural immortalities)

/ˌɪmɔːˈtæləti/

/ˌɪmɔːɹˈtæləti/

From Middle English immortalitee, immortalite, from Old French immortalité, from Latin immortālitās.
Morphologically immortal + -ity.

خُلُود

condition of not being susceptible to death

In Greek mythology, Tithonus was granted immortality but not eternal youth.

In the little, as in the great things of life, are to be found the type and sign of our immortality. Every hope that looks forward is pledge of the hereafter to which it refers. Who rests content with the present? None. We have all deep within us a craving for the future.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “The Marriage Morning”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 201:

His one desire was to become the father of a man like himself, and it held him with a grip he only partially understood, for it was the first great desire, the first great passion of his life. Falling in love was a mere physical triviality, like warm sun or cool water, beside this divine hope of immortality: "I continue."

1905, E. M. Forster, Where Angels Fear to Tread, chapter 4

(religion, mythology, biology) The condition of being immortal.

The condition of being immortal.
Never dying

You have to salute Gerrard's bravery in accepting the challenge of trying to turn Rangers around given that he has zero experience in senior management. Immortality beckons if he does it.

2018 May 4, Tom English, “Steven Gerrard: A 'seriously clever or recklessly stupid' Rangers appointment”, in BBC Sport:

The condition of being immortal.
Being remembered forever


barrel

barrels (plural)
barrell (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English barel, from Anglo-Norman baril, Old French baril, bareil (“barrel”), of uncertain origin. An attempt to link baril to Old French barre (“bar, bolt”) (compare Medieval Latin barra (“bar, rod”)) via assumed Vulgar Latin *barrīculum meets the phonological requirement, but fails to connect the word semantically. The alternative connection to Frankish *baril, *beril or Gothic *𐌱𐌴𐍂𐌹𐌻𐍃 (*bērils, “container for transport”), from Proto-Germanic *barilaz, *bērilaz (“barrel, jug, container”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“to carry, transport”), is more plausible as it connects not only the form of the word but also the sense; equivalent to bear + -le. Compare also Old High German biril (“jug, large pot”), Luxembourgish Bärel, Bierel (“jug, pot”), Old Norse berill (“barrel for liquids”), Old English byrla (“barrel of a horse, trunk, body”). More at bear.

vat

round vessel made from staves bound with a hoop

(zoology) The hollow basal part of a feather.

somatosensory cortex
somatosensory cortex

(biology) Any of the dark-staining regions in the somatosensory cortex of rodents, etc., where somatosensory inputs from the contralateral side of the body come in from the thalamus.


patella

From Latin patella (“a small pan or dish, a plate; the kneepan, patella”), diminutive of patina (“a broad shallow dish, pan”). Doublet of paella.

uder

(mycology) An orbicular sessile apothecium, with a marginal rim distinct from the thallus.


scab

en-noun

scab (countable and uncountable, plural scabs)

From Middle English scabb, scabbe (also as shabbe, schabbe > English shab), from Old English sċeabb and Old Norse skabb, both from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz (“scab, scabies”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, carve, shape”). Doublet of shab. Cognate with German Schabe (“scabies”), Danish skab (“scab, scabies”), Swedish skabb (“scab, scabies”), Latin scabies (“scab, itch, mange”). Related also to Old English scafan (“to scrape, shave”), Latin scabere (“to scratch”), English shabby.

der

(phytopathology) Any one of various more or less destructive fungal diseases that attack cultivated plants, forming dark-colored crustlike spots.


acinaceous

en-adj

acinaceous (comparative more acinaceous, superlative most acinaceous)

more acinaceous (comparative)
most acinaceous (superlative)

(botany) Containing seeds or stones of grapes, or grains like them.


acinaciform

From New Latin acīnacifōrmis, from acinaces (“short sword”) + -form.

an acinaciform leaf


-id

Borrowed from Middle French -ide m, from Latin -idēs m (patronymic suffix; plural: -idae), from Ancient Greek -ίδης m (-ídēs, patronymic suffix; plural: -ίδαι (-ídai)).

der

patronymic suffix; plural: <i class="Latn mention" lang="la">-idae</i>

patronymic suffix; plural: <i class="Polyt mention" lang="grc">-ίδαι</i> (-ídai)

A felid is a member of Felidae.

(taxonomy) Forming the common names of members of a taxon which has a name ending in -idae.

protocone (“cusp of upper molars”) + -id → protoconid (“equivalent for lower molars”)

(dentistry, paleontology) Forming the names of cusps of lower (mandibular) teeth.

(botany) Forming nouns from Latin or Greek roots, including certain plant names modelled on Latin sources.


acinus

Unadapted borrowing from Latin acinus (“grape, grape-stone”); the histopathologic sense comes figuratively from the fancied resemblance (on microscopy) of acinic cells (acinar cells) to bunches of drupelets, berries, or grapes.

ubor

(botany) One of the small grains or drupelets which make up some kinds of fruit, as the blackberry, raspberry, etc.


porter

From Middle English porter, portere, portier, borrowed from Anglo-Norman portour and Old French porteor, from Late Latin portātor, from past participle of Latin portāre (“to carry”). By surface analysis, port (“to carry”) + -er.

surf

non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger

(entomology) An ant having the specialized role of carrying.


-in

albumin, casein, chitin, pepsin, saponin

(biochemistry) Used, as a modification of -ine, to form the names of a variety of types of compound; examples include proteins (globulin), carbohydrates (dextrin), dyes (alizarin) and others (vanillin).

renin, pancreatin

penicillin, streptomycin

cobalamin, niacin, vitamin


descendant

From Middle English dessendaunte, borrowed from Middle French, from Latin dēscendēns, present participle of descendere, from dē + scandere (“to climb, ascend”).

Dogs evolved as descendants of early wolves.


cleavage

en-noun

cleavage (countable and uncountable, plural cleavages)

[C]itellate annelids (leeches + oligochaetes) provide solid ground for comparative analyses, because they form a monophyletic group within the paraphyletic polychaetes[…]. […] The unequal cleavage of the zygote followed by the unequal cleavage of the CD cell is critical for D-quadrant specification since the cytoplasmic determinants present in teloplasm are segregated to the larger CD cell at first asymmetric cleavage and then to the larger D cell at the second asymmetric cleavage[…].

2008 spring, Dierdre Colleen Lyons, “Mechanisms Controlling the Asymmetric Second Cleavage”, in Mechanisms Controlling the Asymmetric Second Cleavage in the Helobdella Embryo (unpublished Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology dissertation), Berkeley, Calif.: University of California, Berkeley, →OCLC, page 16:

(biology) The repeated division of a cell into daughter cells after mitosis.


strand

Origin uncertain. Cognate with Scots stran, strawn, strand (“strand”). Perhaps the same as strand ("rivulet, stream, gutter"; see Etymology 1 above); or from Middle English *stran, from Old French estran (“a rope, cord”), from Middle High German stren, strene (“skein, strand”), from Old High German streno, from Proto-West Germanic *strenō, from Proto-Germanic *strinô (“strip, strand”), from Proto-Indo-European *strēy-, *ster- (“strip, line, streak, ray, stripe, row”); related to Dutch streng (“skein, hank of thread, strand, string”), German Strähne (“skein, hank of thread, strand of hair”). Compare also Old High German stranga (“strand of hair”), modern German Strang (“strand, thread, cord”).


style

en-noun

style (countable and uncountable, plural styles)

styles (plural)
stile (alternative)
stylee (alternative)
stile (alternative obsolete)

→ Finnish: staili

→ Scottish Gaelic: stoidhle

→ Iban: stail

→ Japanese: スタイル (sutairu)

→ Korean: 스타일 (seutail)

→ Malay: stail

→ Portuguese: style

→ Swahili: staili

The noun is derived from Middle English stile, stel, stele, stiel, stiele, stil, still, stille, styele, style, styill, styll, styyl (“writing tool, stylus; piece of written work; characteristic mode of expression, particularly one regarded as high quality; demeanour, manner, way of life; person's designation or title; stem of a plant; period of time”), from Old French style, estile, stil, stile (modern French style), or from Medieval Latin stylus, both from Latin stilus (“pointed instrument, pale, spike, stake; writing tool, stylus; act of setting down in writing, composition; characteristic mode of expression, style; stem of a plant”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp; to pierce, prick, puncture, stab; to goad”). Doublet of stylus.
The English word is cognate with Catalan estil (“engraving tool, stylus; gnomon; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace”), German Stiel (“handle; stalk”), Italian stilo (“needle, stylus; fountain pen; beam; gnomon; part of pistil, style”), Occitan estil, Portuguese estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style”), Spanish estilo (“writing tool, stylus; manner of doing something, style; fashionable skill, grace; part of pistil, style”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

styl

manner of expression in writing or speech

styl

manner of creating, doing, or presenting something, especially a work of architecture or art

The calyx of Theophraſta is a ſmall, permanent perianthium, divided into five obtuſe ſegments, making obtuſe angles alſo with one another: [...] the ſtyle is ſubulated, and ſhorter than the corolla: the ſtigma is acute.

1751, John Hill, A General Natural History: Or, New and Accurate Descriptions of the Animals, Vegetables, and Minerals of the Different Parts of the World; […], London: Printed for Thomas Osborne, […], →OCLC, page 268:

Senses relating to a thin, pointed object.

(botany) The stalk that connects the stigma(s) to the ovary in a pistil of a flower.

estil

(zoology) A small, thin, pointed body part.

the anal styles of insects

(entomology) A long, slender, bristle-like process near the anal region.


synonymy

en-noun

synonymy (countable and uncountable, plural synonymies)

From Latin synonymia, from Ancient Greek συνωνυμία (sunōnumía), from σύν (sún, “with”) + ὄνομα (ónoma, “name”).

sink into synonymy

In 1924 this name was reduced to synonymy.

(taxonomy) The state of not being the name to be used, of being a synonym.

The synonymy of Tachina is extensive.

Descriptions are followed by a synonymy of the names that have been applied in the literature .

(taxonomy, by extension) A group or list of synonyms.


throat

throats (plural)
throate (alternative obsolete)
throte (alternative obsolete)

peak

antonym(s) of “end of a gaff next to the mast”

From Middle English throte, from Old English þrote, þrota, þrotu (“throat”), from Proto-Germanic *þrutō (“throat”), from Proto-Indo-European *trud- (“to swell, become stiff”). Cognate with Dutch strot (“throat”), German Drossel (“throttle, gorge of game (wild animals)”) (etymology 2), Icelandic þroti (“swelling”), Swedish trut.

cog

one's belly thinks one's throat has been cut

one's stomach thinks one's throat has been cut

(botany) The orifice of a tubular organ; the outer end of the tube of a monopetalous corolla; the faux, or fauces.


corselet

corselets (plural)
corcelet (alternative)
corselette (alternative)
corslet (alternative)

From French corselet, from cors, an archaic spelling of corps (“body”).

With the added suggestion of her goggles it reminded her pupil of the polished shell or corslet of a horrid beetle.


trehalose

en-noun

trehalose (countable and uncountable, plural trehaloses)

/ˈtɹiːələʊz/

The most important of these is the common sugar furnished by the sugar cane, hence termed cane sugar, related to which are some others of small importance, viz., trehalose, melezitose, and melitose, represented by the general formula (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁,xH₂O).

1862, William Allen Miller, Elements of Chemistry: Theoretical and Practical, volume 3:

The researchers fed a natural sugar called trehalose to mice genetically engineered to have a severe version of Huntington's disease.

2004 January 24, New Scientist, page 14:

Major components of the polar lipids are the acylated trehaloses which differ considerably in their acylation patterns to trehalose and in fatty acid content.

2013, Thomas M. Shinnick, Tuberculosis, page 14:

Two bacterial strains that have plagued hospitals around the country may have been at least partly fueled by a sugar additive in our food products, scientists say. Trehalose, a sugar that is added to a wide range of food products, could have allowed certain strains of Clostridium difficile to become far more virulent than they were before, a new study finds.

2018 January 3, Amina Khan, “A popular sugar additive may have fueled the spread of not one but two superbugs”, in Los Angeles Times:

(biochemistry) A disaccharide formed from two glucose units; it is an isomer of maltose.


gusset

From Middle English gusset, gysset, from Old French gosset, gousset (“the hollow of the armpit”), diminutive of gose, gosse (“bean pod, hull, husk”).

(botany) An intercellular space at an angle where more than two cells meet.


shield

From Middle English scheld, shelde, from Old English scield (“shield”), from Proto-West Germanic *skeldu, from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“cut, split”). Cognate with West Frisian skyld, Dutch schild (“shield”), German Schild (“shield”), Danish skjold (“shield”), Icelandic skjöldur (“shield”) and Faroese skjøldur (“shield”).
Compare Latin scūtum (“shield”), Irish sciath (“shield”), Latgalian škīda (“shield”), Lithuanian skydas (“shield”), Russian щит (ščit, “shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover, protect”), *skey- (“to cut, split”).

noncog

Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.

(lichenology) In lichens, a hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.


buckler

From Middle English bukler, bokler, bokeler, bokeleer, from Old French bocler, boucler, bucler, (French bouclier) from Vulgar Latin *bucculārius (“bossed”), from Latin buccula (“boss”). Merged with buckle + -er.

Most zeids have spiny projections or bucklers at the dorsal- and anal-fin bases and bony plates on the ventral surface of the abdomen.

2000, Jeffrey Martin Leis, Brooke M. Carson-Ewart, The Larvae of Indo-Pacific Coastal Fishes, page 186:

(zoology) One of the large, bony, external plates found on many ganoid fishes.

(zoology) The anterior segment of the shell of a trilobite.


vortex

(zoology) Any of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera.


barb

PIE word
 *bʰardʰéh₂
From Middle English barbe, from Middle French barbe, from Old French barbe (“beard, beard-like element”). Doublet of beard.

der

(ornithology) One of the many side branches of a feather, which collectively constitute the vane.

(ichthyology) Any of various species of freshwater carp-like fish that have barbels and belong to the cyprinid family.

(botany) A hair or bristle ending in a double hook.

осил

botany: hair or bristle ending in a double hook


divide

en-verb

divide (third-person singular simple present divides, present participle dividing, simple past and past participle divided)

divides (present singular third-person)
dividing (participle present)
divided (participle past)
divided (past)

PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English dividen, from Latin dīvidere (“to divide”). Displaced native Old English tōdǣlan.

dividend

the sum being divided, the upper term in a fraction

divisor

the number of parts in a division, the lower term in a fraction

[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, and that in several cases these bacteria were dividing and thus, by the perverse arithmetic of biological terminology, multiplying.

2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:

(intransitive, biology) Of a cell, to reproduce by dividing.


pectoral

All senses are ultimately from Latin pectorālis, but some may have come through Old French and Middle English.

the pectoral sandpiper

(zoology) Having the breast conspicuously colored.


transfer

en-noun

transfer (countable and uncountable, plural transfers)

/tɹɑːnsˈfɜː/

From Latin trānsferō (“I bear across”). Distant doublet of translate. See also collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others.

(genetics) The conveying of genetic material from one cell to another.


maritime

en-adj

maritime (comparative more maritime, superlative most maritime)

more maritime (comparative)
most maritime (superlative)

/ˈmæ.ɹɪˌtɑɪm/

Borrowed from Middle French maritime, from Latin maritimus.

a maritime bird or animal

On the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and northernmost Florida, maritime forests are dominated by live oaks (Quercus virginiana), and occur as large contiguous patches of forest on barrier islands, the immediate mainland, and as small patches (oak hammocks) scattered among coastal marshes.

2004 March, Scott G. Somershoe, C. Ray Chandler, “Use of Oak Hammocks by Neotropical Migrant Songbirds: the Role of Area and Habitat”, in The Wilson Bulletin, volume 116, number 1, Lawrence, KS: Wilson Ornithological Society, page 56:

(zoology) Inhabiting the seashore; living coastwise; littoral. (distinguished from marine)


TIM

en-noun

TIM (countable and uncountable, plural TIMs)

Abbreviation.
* (trans-identified male): when applied to trans women by a person who holds gender-critical beliefs.

(cytology) Translocon on Inner cellular Membrane


kettle

→ Brunei Malay: kitil

→ Persian: کتری (ketri)

→ Bengali: কেটলি (keṭli)

→ Hindi: केतली (ketlī)

→ Gujarati: કીટલી (kīṭlī)

→ Irish: citeal

→ Maltese: kitla

→ Zulu: igedlela

From Middle English ketel, also chetel, from Old English ċietel (“kettle, cauldron”) and in Middle English possibly influenced by Old Norse ketill and both from Proto-Germanic *katilaz (“kettle, bucket, vessel”), of uncertain origin and formation. Usually regarded as a borrowing of Late Latin catīllus (“small bowl”), diminutive of Latin catinus (“deep bowl, vessel for cooking up or serving food”), however, the word may be Germanic confused with the Latin: compare Old English cete (“cooking pot”), Old High German chezzi (“a kettle, dish, bowl”), Icelandic kati, ketla (“a small boat”). Cognate with West Frisian tsjettel (“kettle”), Dutch ketel (“kettle”), German Kessel (“kettle”), Swedish kittel (“cauldron”), Swedish kittel (“kettle”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (katils, “kettle”), Finnish kattila, Polish kocioł (“cauldron”), Czech kotel (“boiler”), Russian котёл (kotjól, “boiler, cauldron”).
(watch): Cockney rhyming slang from 'kettle and hob' to 'fob' (fob watch).

cog

a kettle of hawks

Kettles can consist of thousands of birds migrating together.

2010, Jean-Luc E. Cartron, Raptors of New Mexico:

(ornithology, collective) A group of raptors riding a thermal, especially when migrating.