lemniscus

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. One of two oval bodies hanging from the interior walls of the body in the Acanthocephala.
  2. A woollen fillet attached to the back of crowns, diadems, etc.
  3. A ribbon of fibers, especially of cerebral white nerve fibers.

Pronunciation

/lɛmˈnɪ.skəs/

Word forms

lemniscus lemniscuses lemnisci

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin lēmniscus (“pendent ribbon”), from Ancient Greek λημνῐ́σκος (lēmnĭ́skos), from Λῆμνος (Lêmnos, “a Greek island Lemnos”) + -ίσκος (-ískos, “noun-forming diminutive suffix”).

Related words

Derived words

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