excurrent

[ik-skur-uh nt, -skuhr-]

adjective

running out or forth.

Zoology. giving passage outward; affording exit: the excurrent canal of certain sponges.

Botany.

having the axis prolonged so as to form an undivided main stem or trunk, as the stem of the spruce.
projecting beyond the apex, as the midrib in certain leaves.

Nearby words

Origin of excurrent

1595–1605; < Latin excurrent- (stem of excurrēns) present participle of excurrere to run forth. See ex-¹, current

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

Examples from the Web for excurrent

Its excurrent branches are very different from those of other elms.
Forest Trees of Illinois|Fuller George D.
But this tree of evolution is an excurrent stem, continuous through the clustering branches to the terminal shoot—man.
Evolution|Joseph Le Conte
When the main trunk of a tree extends upward through the head to the tip, as in Fig. 3, it is said to be excurrent.
Trees of the Northern United States|Austin C. Apgar
Medium-sized tree with mainly an excurrent trunk and horizontal branches.
Trees of the Northern United States|Austin C. Apgar

An excurrent and returning current were also traced to each of the legs.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4)|William Kirby

British Dictionary definitions for excurrent

excurrent

adjective

zoology having an outward flow, as certain pores in sponges, ducts, etc

botany

(of veins) extending beyond the margin of the leaf
having an undivided main stem or trunk, as the spruce and other conifers

flowing or running in an outward direction

Word Origin for excurrent

C19: from Latin excurrere to run forth; see excursion

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