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botryoidal

American  
[bo-tree-oid-l] / ˌbɒ triˈɔɪd l /
Also botryoid,

adjective

Mineralogy.
  1. having the form of a bunch of grapes.

    botryoidal hematite.


botryoidal British  
/ ˌbɒtrɪˈɔɪdəl, -ˌəʊz, ˈbɒtrɪˌəʊs /

adjective

  1. (of minerals, parts of plants, etc) shaped like a bunch of grapes

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

botryoidal Scientific  
/ bŏt′rē-oidl /
  1. Shaped like a bunch of grapes. Certain minerals and parts of organisms can be botryoidal.


Other Word Forms

  • botryoidally adverb

Etymology

Origin of botryoidal

1810–20; < Greek botryoeid ( ḗs ) shaped like a bunch of grapes ( bótry ( s ) bunch of grapes + -oeidēs -oid ) + -al 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The mineral also occurs as stalactitic or botryoidal masses with a fibrous structure, or in a massive, cellular or granular condition intermixed with calamine and clay.

From Project Gutenberg

A fibrous variety with a botryoidal or globular surface is known as botryolite.

From Project Gutenberg

Native arsenic is usually found as granular or curvilaminar masses, with a reniform or botryoidal surface.

From Project Gutenberg

The network is partly formed out of pigmented cells which are excavated and join to form tubes, the so-called botryoidal tissue, not found among the Rhynchobdellidae at all.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes the travertin assumes precisely the botryoidal and mammillary forms, common to similar deposits in Auvergne, of a much older date; and, like them, it often scales off in thin, slightly undulating layers.

From Project Gutenberg