decussate
Americanadjective
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in the form of an X ; crossed; intersected.
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Botany. arranged along the stem in pairs, each pair at right angles to the pair next above or below, as leaves.
verb (used without object)
verb
adjective
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in the form of the letter X; crossed; intersected
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botany (esp of leaves) arranged in opposite pairs, with each pair at right angles to the one above and below it
Other Word Forms
- decussately adverb
- decussation noun
Etymology
Origin of decussate
First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin decussātus “divided in the form of an X” (past participle of decussāre ), equivalent to Latin decuss(is) “the numeral ten,” originally, “a ten-as weight,” supposedly from unrecorded dec(-em) assis ); ten, as 2, -ate 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 major differences between the two are in the type of information that is relayed to the brain and where the tracts decussate.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Axons from these second neurons then decussate within the spinal cord and ascend to the brain and enter the thalamus, where each synapses with the third neuron in its respective pathway.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Axons from the second neuron decussate and ascend to the thalamus along the trigeminothalamic tract.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Upon reaching the appropriate level, the axons decussate, entering the ventral horn on the opposite side of the spinal cord from which they entered.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
A Melaleuca with very small decussate leaves, a tree about twenty-five feet high, was growing on the scrubby ridges.
From Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia : from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, a distance of upwards of 3000 miles, during the years 1844-1845 by Leichhardt, Ludwig
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
