crys·tal·line   (krĭs'tə-lĭn, -līn', -lēn')    adj.   Being, relating to, or composed of crystal or crystals. Resembling crystal, as in transparency or distinctness of structure or outline. [Middle English cristallin, from Old French, from Latin crystallinus, from Greek krustallinos, from krustallos, ice, crystal; see kreus- in Indo-European roots.] crys'tal·lin'i·ty (-lĭn'ĭ-tē) n.

Crystalline

Crys"tal*line\ (kr?s"tal-l?n or -l?n; 277), a. [L. crystallinus, from Gr. ????: cf. F. cristallin. See Crystal.]

1. Consisting, or made, of crystal.

Mount, eagle, to my palace crystalline. --Shak.

2. Formed by crystallization; like crystal in texture.

Their crystalline structure. --Whewell.

3. Imperfectly crystallized; as, granite is only crystalline, while quartz crystal is perfectly crystallized.

4. Fig.: Resembling crystal; pure; transparent; pellucid. "The crystalline sky." --Milton.

Crystalline heavens, or Crystalline spheres, in the Ptolemaic system of astronomy, two transparent spheres imagined to exist between the region of the fixed stars and the primum mobile (or outer circle of the heavens, which by its motion was supposed to carry round all those within it), in order to explain certain movements of the heavenly bodies.

Crystalline lens (Anat.), the capsular lenslike body in the eye, serving to focus the rays of light. It consists of rodlike cells derived from the external embryonic epithelium.

Main Entry: crys·tal·line
Pronunciation: 'kris-t&-l&n also -"lIn, -"lEn
Function: adjective
1 : composed of orresembling crystals
2 a : formed by crystallization : having regular arrangement of the atoms in a space lattice —see AMORPHOUS 2 b : having the internal structure though not necessarily the external form of a crystal crystalline, while quartz crystal is perfectly crystallized> —crys·tal·lin·i·ty /"kris-t&-'lin-&t-E/ noun plural -ties

crystalline crys·tal·line (krĭs'tə-lĭn, -līn', -lēn')
adj.

1. Being, relating to, or composed of crystal or crystals.
2. Resembling crystal, as in transparency or distinctness of structure or outline.

crystal   (krĭs'təl)  Pronunciation Key  (click for larger image in new window) A homogenous solid formed by a repeating, three-dimensional pattern of atoms, ions, or molecules and having smooth external surfaces with characteristic angles between them. Crystals can occur in many sizes and shapes. ◇ The particular arrangement in space of these atoms, molecules, or ions, and the way in which they are joined, is called a crystal lattice. There are seven crystal groups or systems. Each is defined on the basis of the geometrical arrangement of the crystal lattice. A natural or synthetic material, such as quartz or ceramic, that consists of such crystals. When subjected to mechanical stresses, crystalline materials can generate an electric charge or, when subjected to an electric field, they can generate mechanical vibrations in what is known as the piezoelectric effect. An electrical device, such as an oscillator or a diode used for detecting radio signals, made of such a material. crystalline adjective