rachis
Americannoun
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Botany.
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the axis of an inflorescence when somewhat elongated, as in a raceme.
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(in a pinnately compound leaf or frond) the prolongation of the petiole along which the leaflets are disposed.
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any of various axial structures.
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Ornithology. the part of the shaft of a feather bearing the web.
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Anatomy. spinal column.
noun
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botany the main axis or stem of an inflorescence or compound leaf
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ornithol the shaft of a feather, esp the part that carries the barbs
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another name for spinal column
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rachis
1775–85; < New Latin < Greek rháchis spine, ridge, backbone
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.
Each leaflet may have its own stalk, but is attached to the rachis.
From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022
“The thickness of the rachis in some specimens is 3 microns thick. That’s less than the size of the average cell,” O’Connor says.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 14, 2018
In all modern feathers, the central shaft or rachis is a hollow tube.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 14, 2018
That is interesting because the rachis seems to aid in flight.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2016
It had a magenta rachis down the center with soft green vanes that shimmered yellow and purple and blue depending on how you turned it.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
