CAPILLARY

capillary, hairlike

(adjective) long and slender with a very small internal diameter; “a capillary tube”

capillary

(adjective) of or relating to hair

capillary, capillary tube, capillary tubing

(noun) a tube of small internal diameter; holds liquid by capillary action

capillary, capillary vessel

(noun) any of the minute blood vessels connecting arterioles with venules

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adjective

capillary (comparative more capillary, superlative most capillary)

of or pertaining to hair.

pertaining to a narrow tube.

of, relating to, or caused by surface tension.

Noun

capillary (plural capillaries)

A narrow tube.

(anatomy) Any of the small blood vessels that connect arteries to veins.

Source: Wiktionary


Cap"il*la*ry, a. Etym: [L. capillaris, fr. capillus hair. Cf. Capillaire.]

1. Resembling a hair; fine; minute; very slender; having minute tubes or interspaces; having very small bore; as, the capillary vessels of animals and plants.

2. Pertaining to capillary tubes or vessels; as, capillary action. Capillary attraction, Capillary repulsion, the apparent attraction or repulsion between a soild and liquid caused bycapillarity. See Capillarity, and Attraction.

– Capillarity tubes. See the Note under Capillarity.

Cap"il*la*ry, n.; pl., Capillaries (.

1. A tube or vessel, extremely fine or minute.

2. (Anat.)

Definition: A minute, thin-walled vessel; particularly one of the smallest blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, but used also for the smallest lymphatic and biliary vessels.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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