stria

[ strahy-uh ]

/ ˈstraɪ ə /

noun, plural stri·ae [strahy-ee] /ˈstraɪ i/.

a slight or narrow furrow, ridge, stripe, or streak, especially one of a number in parallel arrangement: striae of muscle fiber.

Mineralogy. any of a series of parallel lines or tiny grooves on the surface of a crystal, indicative of the mode of growth.

Architecture. a flute on the shaft of a column.

Nearby words

Origin of stria

1555–65; < Latin: furrow, channel

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for striae

Interstitial line: the elevated ridge between two striae or series of punctures.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology|John. B. Smith
Running horizontally across the middle of the floor are the striae acusticae which are continued into the auditory nerve.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4|Various
On the posterior margins of several operculars the striae break up into tubercles.
A New Genus of Pennsylvania Fish (Crossoperygii, Coelacanthiformes) from Kansas|Joan Echols
Cinnamon brown, the sides of the thorax with yellowish brown hairs, and patches in the striae of the same coloured hairs.
Discoveries in Australia, Volume 1.|J Lort Stokes

The gneiss is often striated, all the striae looking one way—sometimes north and south, and at other times east and west.
The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume I (of 2), 1866-1868|David Livingstone

British Dictionary definitions for striae

stria

/ (ˈstraɪə) /

noun plural striae (ˈstraɪiː) (often plural)

Also called: striation geology any of the parallel scratches or grooves on the surface of a rock caused by abrasion resulting from the passage of a glacier, motion on a fault surface, etc

fine ridges and grooves on the surface of a crystal caused by irregular growth

biology anatomy a narrow band of colour or a ridge, groove, or similar linear mark, usually occurring in a parallel series

architect a narrow channel, such as a flute on the shaft of a column

Word Origin for stria

C16: from Latin: a groove

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

Word Origin and History for striae

stria

plural striae, 1560s, from Latin stria "a furrow, flute of a column;" see striation.

Medicine definitions for striae

stria

[ strī′ə ]

n. pl. stri•ae (strī′ē)

A thin, narrow groove or channel.

A thin line or band, especially one of several that are parallel or close together.

A thin line, band, stripe, or streak distinguished from the tissue in which it is found; a striation.