muricate

American

[myoor-i-keyt] / ˈmyʊər ɪˌkeɪt /

Also muricated

adjective

Botany, Zoology.

covered with short, sharp points.

muricate British

/ ˈmjʊərɪˌkeɪt /

adjective

biology having a surface roughened by numerous short points

muricate stems

"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 muricate

1655–65; < Latin mūricātus like a murex, equivalent to mūric- (stem of mūrex ) murex + -ātus -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.

Follicles oblong or ovate, often somewhat muricate with soft spinous projections.

From Project Gutenberg

Follicles turgid, mostly muricate with soft warty projections, sometimes ribbed.

From Project Gutenberg

Fruiting bracts with margins often dilated and sides often muricate.

From Project Gutenberg

Silvery-mealy, diffusely spreading; leaves oblong, narrowed at base, nearly sessile; fruiting bracts broadly wedge-shaped, united, 3-nerved, 2–5 toothed at the summit, and usually strongly muricate and reticulate on the sides.—Sandy beaches, along the coast, Mass. to Fla. 3.

From Project Gutenberg

Filament slender; anther 2-celled, didymous; the cells dehiscent transversely; pollen-grains large, spherical, muricate.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023