apophysis

American  

[uh-pof-uh-sis] / əˈpɒf ə sɪs /

noun

apophyses plural

1. Anatomy, Botany. an outgrowth; process; projection or protuberance.

2. Architecture. apophyge.

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apophysis British  

/ -seɪt, əˈpɒfɪsɪs, əˈpɒfɪsɪt, ˌæpəˈfɪzɪəl /

noun

1. a process, outgrowth, or swelling from part of an animal or plant

2. geology a tapering offshoot from a larger igneous intrusive mass

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• apophysate
  adjective
• interapophyseal
  adjective
• apophysary
  adjective
• apophyseal
  adjective
• apophysial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• apophyses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of apophysis

1605–15; < New Latin < Greek: offshoot, equivalent to apo- apo- + phýsis growth, equivalent to phý ( ein ) to bring forth + -sis -sis