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ensiform

American  
[en-suh-fawrm] / ˈɛn səˌfɔrm /

adjective

  1. sword-shaped; xiphoid.


ensiform British  
/ ˈɛnsɪˌfɔːm /

adjective

  1. biology shaped like a sword blade

    ensiform leaves

"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

Etymology

Origin of ensiform

1535–45; < Latin ēnsi ( s ) sword + -form

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:

The woman, aged twenty-two, was pale, diminutive in size, and showed an enormous abdomen, which measured 50 inches in circumference at the umbilicus and 27 inches from the ensiform cartilage to the pubes.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

An incision was made from the ensiform cartilage to the umbilicus, the aneurysm exposed, and its cavity filled up with two meters of silver-plated wire.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

The pod is woody and ensiform and contains three or four seeds, separated by spongy partition-walls.

From History of the Philippine Islands by Robertson, James Alexander

Evidence of mediastinal hæmorrhage existed in the presence of subcutaneous discoloration of the abdominal wall, below the ensiform cartilage and extending slightly over the costal margin of the thorax.

From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by Makins, George Henry

Aperture of entry ragged, roughly circular, and 2 inches in diameter, with much-contused margins situated in the median line, nearly midway between the ensiform cartilage and umbilicus.

From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by Makins, George Henry

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