annulus
[an-yuh-luh s]
- a ring; a ringlike part, band, or space.
- Geometry. the space between two concentric circles on a plane.
- the veil remnant on a mushroom stalk.
- a growth ring, as on the cross section of a tree trunk, that can be used to estimate age.
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Origin of annulus
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for annulus
Historical Examples
Armillate: with a ring or annulus of raised or different tissue.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
Ring: a circle or annulus, usually margining a discolored spot.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
The annulus is not persistent, and the gills are crowded and notched.
Studies of American Fungi. Mushrooms, Edible, Poisonous, etc.George Francis Atkinson
Some have referred the name to the Latin or Italian, annulus, or annello.
Ancient Armour and Weapons in EuropeJohn Hewitt
This was called the astronomical ring, annulus astronomicus.
Finger-Ring LoreWilliam Jones
annulus
- the area between two concentric circles
- a ring-shaped part, figure, or space
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin, variant of ānulus ring
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for annulus
n.
1560s, medical, from misspelling of Latin anulus "little ring, finger ring," a diminutive of anus (see anus).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
annulus
- A circular or ring-shaped structure.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
annulus
[ăn′yə-ləs]
- A ringlike figure, part, structure, or marking, such as a growth ring on the scale of a fish.
- A ring or group of specialized cells around the sporangia of many ferns. By changing shape in response to variations in humidity, it breaks open the sporangium and then releases the spores with a whipping motion.
- The ringlike remains of a membrane (called a veil), found around the stipes of certain basidiomycete mushrooms. The presence or absence of an annulus is often used to identify the species of an individual mushroom.
- The figure bounded by and containing the area between two concentric circles.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.