corpuscular

American  

[kawr-puhs-kyuh-ler] / kɔrˈpʌs kyə lər /

Rarely corpusculated

adjective

1. Biology. of or relating to a corpuscle, or unattached cell, especially of the kind that floats freely, such as a blood or lymph cell.

   Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is the average size of red blood cells.

2. Anatomy. of or relating to a corpuscle, a small mass or body of cells forming a more or less distinct part, such as the sensory receptors at nerve endings.

3. Physical Chemistry. of or relating to a corpuscle, a minute or elementary particle of matter, such as an electron, proton, or atom.

4. being, relating to, or similar to a particle.

   Do the experiment with something known to be corpuscular rather than wavelike, such as marbles.

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Other Word Forms

• corpuscularity
  noun
• intercorpuscular
  adjective
• noncorpuscular
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of corpuscular

First recorded in 1660–70; Latin corpuscul(um) “small body” ( see corpuscle ( def. )) + -ar ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

The MCV, or "Mean Corpuscular Volume" count, measures the average size of red blood cells, which are responsible for transporting oxygen from the lungs to other parts of the body.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2023

We have up to the present dealt with only two theories of light, the Corpuscular theory and the Undulatory or Wave theory.

From Aether and Gravitation by Hooper, William George

Corpuscular Philosophy, the philosophy which accounts for physical phenomena by the position and the motions of corpuscles.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Corpuscular, spun of uncounted rushing, dazzling ions the great rays struck across, impinged upon the thousand-foot wheel that crowned the cones; set it whirling.

From The Metal Monster by Merritt, Abraham

Corpuscular philosophy, introduced shortly after, appears to have extinguished this excessively Peripatetic sect, or perhaps to have been intermixed with its teaching.

From Theodicy Essays on the Goodness of God, the Freedom of Man and the Origin of Evil by Huggard, E.M.