flocculus

American  

[flok-yuh-luhs] / ˈflɒk jə ləs /

noun

flocculi plural

1. floccule.

2. Astronomy. one of the bright or dark patches on the sun's surface, visible in a spectroheliogram.

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flocculus British  

/ ˈflɒkjʊləs /

noun

1. a marking on the sun's surface or in its atmosphere, as seen on a spectroheliogram. It consists of calcium when lighter than the surroundings and of hydrogen when darker

2. anatomy a tiny ovoid prominence on each side of the cerebellum

3. another word for floccule

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• flocculi
  plural

Etymology

Origin of flocculus

From New Latin, dating back to 1790–1800; see origin at floccule

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

flocculus flocculi

Each flocculus, in describing its course, must give motion to the medium through which it is moving.

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Spencer, Herbert

Then he did the same for variations in the sun's flocculi.

From Time Magazine Archive

They develop just after the sun's surface shows "calcium flocculi": a nubbly appearance that signals an unusually large output of ultraviolet light.

From Time Magazine Archive

The degree of condensation causing spiral movement, is a degree of condensation also implying masses of flocculi that are larger, and therefore more visible, than those existing in an earlier stage.

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Spencer, Herbert

These are usually exhibited in the form of flocculi following the spot.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck

The view shows the "rice grain" structure of the photosphere and brilliant calcium flocculi.

From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by Todd, David Peck