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
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 ); see origin at ten, as 2, -ate 1
Explanation
Decussate things cross over each other, forming an X shape. In botany, decussate leaves are arranged along a stem in a way that causes pairs of them to overlap each other. You can use decussate as an adjective or a verb — either way, it's a technical term most commonly used by scientists. In anatomy, nerve fibers that cross from one side of the brain to the other are said to decussate, and when rods of tooth enamel decussate, they cross each other in an X shape. Biologists also describe animal and plant markings this way: "I saw the decussate lines on its back and immediately identified the insect!"
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.
See Examples For:
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
The axons that decussate in the chiasm are from the medial retinae of either eye, and therefore carry information from the peripheral visual field.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
However, within each eye, the axons projecting from the lateral side of the retina do not decussate.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
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
The twisted parents gave as many as 41% twisted children, but the decussate atavists gave even somewhat more, viz.,
From Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation by Hugo de Vries
In his famous dictionary Samuel Johnson notoriously, and gloriously, defined the word “network” as “any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 17, 2016
A cough, said he, is "a convulsion of the lungs, vellicated by some sharp serosity," and a network is "anything reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections."
From Time Magazine Archive
Plato says, "He expressed him upon the Universe in the figure of the letter X. The next Power to the Supreme God Was decussated or figured in the shape of a Cross on Universe."
From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Albert Pike
A network is anything reticulated or decussated, with interstices at equal distances between the intersections.
From Higher Lessons in English A work on English grammar and composition by Brainerd Kellogg
As a contrast in descriptive style, we would quote Dr. Johnson on network: “Anything reticulated or decussated at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.”
From Needlework As Art by Marianne Margaret Compton Cust, Viscountess Alford
This arrangement in successive decussating pairs gives an advantageous distribution on the stem in four vertical ranks.
From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Asa Gray
The grey matter of the anterior cornua is cut off from the rest by the decussating pyramids and finally disappears.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various
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