cirrus

[ sir-uhs ]
See synonyms for cirrus on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural cir·rus for 1, cir·ri [sir-ahy] /ˈsɪr aɪ/ for 2, 3.
  1. Meteorology.

    • a cloud of a class characterized by thin white filaments or narrow bands and a composition of ice crystals: of high altitude, about 20,000–40,000 feet (6000–12,000 meters).

    • a cirriform cloud.

  2. Botany. a tendril.

  1. Zoology.

    • a filament or slender appendage serving as a foot, tentacle, barbel, etc.

    • the male copulatory organ of flatworms and various other invertebrates.

Origin of cirrus

1
1700–10; <Latin: a curl, tuft, plant filament like a tuft of hair

Words Nearby cirrus

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British Dictionary definitions for cirrus

cirrus

/ (ˈsɪrəs) /


nounplural -ri (-raɪ)
  1. meteorol a thin wispy fibrous cloud at high altitudes, composed of ice particles

  2. a plant tendril or similar part

  1. zoology

    • a slender tentacle or filament in barnacles and other marine invertebrates

    • a hairlike structure in other animals, such as a filament on the appendage of an insect or a barbel of a fish

Origin of cirrus

1
C18: from Latin: curl, tuft, fringe

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

Scientific definitions for cirrus

cirrus

[ sîrəs ]


Plural cirri (sîrī′)
  1. A high-altitude cloud composed of feathery white patches or bands of ice crystals. Cirrus clouds generally form between 6,100 and 12,200 m (20,000 and 40,000 ft). See illustration at cloud.

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