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cul-de-sac

 - 5 dictionary results

cul-de-sac

  [kuhl-duh-sak, -sak, kool-; Fr. kyduh-sak]
Use cul-de-sac in a Sentence
–noun, plural culs-de-sac  [kuhlz-duh-sak, -sak, koolz-; Fr. kyduh-sak] .
1. a street, lane, etc., closed at one end; blind alley; dead-end street.
2. any situation in which further progress is impossible.
3. the hemming in of a military force on all sides except behind.
4. Anatomy. a saclike cavity, tube, or the like, open only at one end, as the cecum.
Origin:
1730–40; < F: lit., bottom of the sack
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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cul-de-sac   (kŭl'dĭ-sāk', kŏŏl'-)   
n.   pl. culs-de-sac (kŭlz'-, kŏŏlz'-) or cul-de-sacs (kŭl'-)

    1. A dead-end street.

    2. An impasse: "This was the cul-de-sac the year kept driving me toward: men and women would always be at odds" (Philip Weiss).

  2. Anatomy A saclike cavity or tube open only at one end.


[French : cul, bottom (from Old French, from Latin cūlus; see culet) + de, of (from Old French, from Latin dē; see de-) + sac, sack (from Old French, from Latin saccus; see sack1).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cul-de-sac 
1738, as an anatomical term, from Fr., lit. "bottom of a sack," from L. culus "bottom" (for second element, see sack (n.1)). Application to streets and alleys is from 1800.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: cul–de–sac
Pronunciation: 'k&l-di-"sak, 'kul-; "k&l-di-', "kul-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural culs–de–sac /'k&l(z)-, 'kul(z)-, "k&l(z)-, "kul(z)-/ also cul–de–sacs /-"saks, -'saks/
1 : a blinddiverticulum or pouch; also : the closed end of such a pouch
2 : POUCH OF DOUGLAS
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

cul-de-sac (kŭl'dĭ-sāk', k&oobreve;l'-)
n. pl. culs-de-sac (kŭlz'-, k&oobreve;lz'-) or cul-de-sacs
A saclike cavity or tube open only at one end.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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