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raphides

American

[raf-i-deez] / ˈræf ɪˌdiz /

plural noun

Botany.

SINGULAR

raphide, raphis

acicular crystals, usually composed of calcium oxalate, that occur in bundles in the cells of many plants.

Etymology

Origin of raphides

1835–45; < New Latin < Greek rhaphídes, plural of rhaphís needle

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.

It has an opening at each end through which raphides, generated inside, are discharged.

From Project Gutenberg

Raphides, raf′i-dēz, n.pl. crystals found in the interior of the cells of plants:—sing.

From Project Gutenberg

The microscope showed it to be free from oxalate of lime or other raphides.

From Project Gutenberg

Crystals, called raphides, in the wood cells, take the edges off tools used in working locust lumber.

From Project Gutenberg

This opinion was opposed by Prof. Burrill and other eminent botanists, who claimed that other plants, as the fuchsia, are not at all acrid, although they contain raphides as plentifully as the Indian turnip.

From Project Gutenberg

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