centrifugal definition | Dictionary.com

Moving or directed away from a center or axis.
Operated by means of centrifugal force.
Physiology Transmitting nerve impulses away from the central nervous system; efferent.
Botany Developing or progressing outward from a center or axis, as in a flower cluster in which the oldest flowers are in the center and the youngest flowers are near the edge.
Tending or directed away from centralization, as of authority: "The division of Europe into two warring blocs, each ultimately dependent on a superpower patron, is subject to ever-increasing centrifugal stress" (Scott Sullivan).

[From New Latin centrifugus : Latin centrum, center; see center + Latin fugere, to flee.]

cen·trif'u·gal·ism n., cen·trif'u·gal·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
centrifugal

c.1721, from Mod.L., coined 1687 by Sir Isaac Newton from L. centri- alternate comb. form of centrum "center" (see center) + fugere "to flee" (see fugitive). Centrifuge (n.) is from 1889 in the modern sense, but used in 1809 for a machine that separated cream from milk.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

centrifugal
adjective
1.	tending to move away from a center; "centrifugal force" [ant: centripetal]
2.	tending away from centralization, as of authority; "the division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress"
3.	conveying information to the muscles from the CNS; "motor nerves"

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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

centrifugal (sěn-trĭf'yə-gəl, -trĭf'ə-) Pronunciation Key

Moving or directed away from a center or axis, usually as a result of being spun around the center or axis.
Operated in the manner of a centrifuge.
Transmitting nerve impulses away from the brain or spinal cord; efferent.
Developing or progressing outward from a center or axis, as in the growth of plant structures. For example, in a centrifugal inflorescence such as a cyme, the flowers in the center or tip open first while those on the edge open last. Compare centripetal.

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

centrifugal cen·trif·u·gal (sěn-trĭf'yə-gəl, -trĭf'ə-)
adj.

Moving or directed away from a center or axis.
Transmitting nerve impulses away from the central nervous system; efferent.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Centrifugal

Cen*trif"u*gal\, a. [L. centrum center + fugere to flee.]

1. Tending, or causing, to recede from the center.

2. (Bot.) (a) Expanding first at the summit, and later at the base, as a flower cluster. (b) Having the radicle turned toward the sides of the fruit, as some embryos.

Centrifugal force (Mech.), a force whose direction is from a center.

Note: When a body moves in a circle with uniform velocity, a force must act on the body to keep it in the circle without change of velocity. The direction of this force is towards the center of the circle. If this force is applied by means of a string to the body, the string will be in a state of tension. To a person holding the other end of the string, this tension will appear to be directed toward the body as if the body had a tendency to move away from the center of the circle which it is describing. Hence this latter force is often called centrifugal force. The force which really acts on the body being directed towards the center of the circle is called centripetal force, and in some popular treatises the centripetal and centrifugal forces are described as opposing and balancing each other. But they are merely the different aspects of the same stress. --Clerk Maxwell.

Centrifugal impression (Physiol.), an impression (motor) sent from a nerve center outwards to a muscle or muscles by which motion is produced.

Centrifugal machine, A machine for expelling water or other fluids from moist substances, or for separating liquids of different densities by centrifugal action; a whirling table.

Centrifugal pump, a machine in which water or other fluid is lifted and discharged through a pipe by the energy imparted by a wheel or blades revolving in a fixed case. Some of the largest and most powerful pumps are of this kind.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Centrifugal

Cen*trif"u*gal\, n. A centrifugal machine.

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