cusp

[ kuhsp ]

/ kʌsp /

noun

a point or pointed end.

Anatomy, Zoology, Botany. a point, projection, or elevation, as on the crown of a tooth.

Also called spinode. Geometry. a point where two branches of a curve meet, end, and are tangent.

Architecture. a decorative device, used especially in Gothic architecture to vary the outlines of intradoses or to form architectural foils, consisting of a pair of curves tangent to the real or imaginary line defining the area decorated and meeting at a point within the area.

Astronomy. a point of a crescent, especially of the moon.

Astrology.

the zodiacal degree that marks the beginning of a house or a sign.
Informal.a person born on the first day of a sign.

a point that marks the beginning of a change: on the cusp of a new era.

Nearby words

Origin of cusp

First recorded in 1575–85, cusp is from the Latin word cuspis a point

Related formscusp·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cusps

Commencing with the left superior central incisors, three cusps are present with a rudimentary palatine cusp.
Degeneracy|Eugene S. Talbot
Hevelius in 1642 saw the ring more clearly, but figured it as two crescents attached to Saturn by their cusps.
The Sidereal Messenger of Galileo Galilei|Galileo Galilei
Bicuspid, bī-kus′pid, adj. having two cusps: a pre-molar tooth.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D)|Various
The circular window is without tracery; it has twelve cusps.
The Cathedral Church of Peterborough|W.D. Sweeting

Above are three circles arranged pyramidally, each containing nine cusps.
The Cathedral Church of York|A. Clutton-Brock

British Dictionary definitions for cusps

cusp

/ (kʌsp) /

noun

any of the small elevations on the grinding or chewing surface of a tooth

any of the triangular flaps of a heart valve

a point or pointed end

Also called: spinode geometry a point at which two arcs of a curve intersect and at which the two tangents are coincident

architect a carving at the meeting place of two arcs

astronomy either of the points of a crescent moon or of a satellite or inferior planet in a similar phase

astrology any division between houses or signs of the zodiac

Word Origin for cusp

C16: from Latin cuspis point, pointed end

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

Word Origin and History for cusps

cusp

1580s, from Latin cuspis "point, spear, pointed end, head," of unknown origin. Astrological use is earliest.

Medicine definitions for cusps

cusp

[ kŭsp ]

n.

A pointed or rounded projection on the chewing surface of a tooth.

A triangular fold or flap of a heart valve.

cusp

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of cusp

Examples from the Web for cusps

cusp

noun

Word Origin for cusp

cusp

cusp

n.