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” ( corpuscle ( def. ) ) + -ar ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles travelling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.

From Textbooks • Feb. 14, 2019

A German astronomer, Ludwig Biermann, suggested that particles emitted from the sun — what he called solar corpuscular radiation — were shaping the comet tails.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2018

Newton took Descartes’idea and developed the corpuscular theory of light.

From Scientific American • Oct. 14, 2013

Like many another patient suffering with a chronic disease, the city of Denver put off calling a doctor until its ailment�a corpuscular clotting of automobile traffic in its downtown arteries�grew almost unbearable.

From Time Magazine Archive

Both these arguments thus depended on prior acceptance of the mechanistic or corpuscular philosophy, according to which matter is passive and always acted on from outside.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton