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meniscate

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me·nis·cus   (mə-nĭs'kəs)   


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n.   pl. me·nis·ci (-nĭs'ī, -kī, -kē) or me·nis·cus·es

  1. A crescent-shaped body.

  2. A concavo-convex lens.

  3. The curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a container that is concave if the liquid wets the container walls and convex if it does not.

  4. A cartilage disk that acts as a cushion between the ends of bones that meet in a joint.


[New Latin, from Greek mēniskos, diminutive of mēnē, moon, month; see mē-2 in Indo-European roots.]
me·nis'cal (-kəl), me·nis'cate' (-kāt'), me·nis'coid' (-koid'), men'is·coi'dal (měn'ĭs-koid'l) adj.
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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