quincuncial

or quin·cun·xial

[ kwin-kuhn-shuhl, kwing- ]

/ kwɪnˈkʌn ʃəl, kwɪŋ- /

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adjective

consisting of, arranged, or formed like a quincunx or quincunxes.

Botany. noting a five-ranked arrangement of leaves.

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Origin of quincuncial

1595–1605; <Latin quīncunciālis, equivalent to quīncunci- (stem of quīncunxquincunx) + -ālis-al¹

OTHER WORDS FROM quincuncial

quin·cun·cial·ly, adverb

Words nearby quincuncial

quinceañera, quincentenary, quincentennial, Quincke's disease, Quincke's pulse, quincuncial, quincunx, Quincy, quindecagon, quindecaplet, quindecennial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use quincuncial in a sentence

Towards the tower Criere stood the orchard full of all fruit-trees, set and ranged in a quincuncial order.
Gargantua and Pantagruel, Complete.|Francois Rabelais
Pores subregular, circular, gradually increasing in size, disposed in six to nine quincuncial alternating longitudinal rows.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index|Ernst Haeckel
We pretend not to multiply vegetable divisions by Quincuncial and Reticulate plants; or erect a new Phytology.
The Works of Sir Thomas Browne|Thomas Browne
Scales on the back rounded, quincuncial, imbricate; those on the belly similar to those on the back and on the sides.
Reptiles and Birds|Louis Figuier

Pores regular, circular, quincuncial, twice as broad as the bars.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, Second Part: Subclass Osculosa; Index|Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for quincuncial

quincuncial

/ (kwɪnˈkʌnʃəl) /

adjective

consisting of or having the appearance of a quincunx

(of the petals or sepals of a five-membered corolla or calyx in the bud) arranged so that two members overlap another two completely and the fifth overlaps on one margin and is itself overlapped on the other

Derived forms of quincuncial

quincuncially, adverb

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