CIRRUS

cirrus

(noun) a slender flexible animal appendage as on barnacles or crinoids or many insects; often tactile

cirrus, cirrus cloud

(noun) a wispy white cloud (usually of fine ice crystals) at a high altitude (4 to 8 miles)

cirrus, cirrhus

(noun) usually coiled

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

cirrus (plural cirri)

(botany) A tendril.

(zoology) A thin tendril-like appendage.

(meteorology) A principal high-level cloud type characterised by white, delicate filaments or wisps, of white (or mostly white) patches, or of narrow bands, found at an altitude of above 7000 metres.

Source: Wiktionary


Cir"rus, n.; pl. Cirri. Etym: [L., lock, curl, ringlet.] [Also written cirrhus.]

1. (Bot.)

Definition: A tendril or clasper.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A soft tactile appendage of the mantle of many Mollusca, and of the parapodia of Annelida. Those near the head of annelids are Tentacular cirri; those of the last segment are caudal cirri. (b) The jointed, leglike organs of Cirripedia. See Annelida, and Polychæta.

Note: In some of the inferior animals the cirri aid in locomotion; in others they are used in feeding; in the Annelida they are mostly organs of touch. Some cirri are branchial in function.

3. (Zoöl.)

Definition: The external male organ of trematodes and some other worms, and of certain Mollusca.

4. (Meteor.)

Definition: See under Cloud.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

26 February 2025

ACRIMONIOUS

(adjective) marked by strong resentment or cynicism; “an acrimonious dispute”; “bitter about the divorce”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.

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