quincuncial

or quin·cun·xial

[kwin-kuhn-shuh l, kwing-]

adjective

consisting of, arranged, or formed like a quincunx or quincunxes.
Botany. noting a five-ranked arrangement of leaves.

Origin of quincuncial

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

Related formsquin·cun·cial·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for quincuncial

Historical Examples of quincuncial

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
Quincuncial forms and ordinations are also observable in animal figurations.
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
Thorax nearly hemispherical, with regular, circular, quincuncial pores.
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

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 Formsquincuncially, 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