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siphonal

 - 5 dictionary results

si⋅phon

  [sahy-fuhn]
Use siphonal in a Sentence
–noun
1. a tube or conduit bent into legs of unequal length, for use in drawing a liquid from one container into another on a lower level by placing the shorter leg into the container above and the longer leg into the one below, the liquid being forced up the shorter leg and into the longer one by the pressure of the atmosphere.
2. siphon bottle.
3. a projecting tubular part of some animals, esp. certain mollusks, through which liquid enters or leaves the body.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
4. to convey, draw, or pass through or as if through a siphon (sometimes fol. by off): to siphon water; to siphon off profits into a secret bank account.
Also, syphon.

Origin:
1650–60; < L sīphōn- (s. of sīphō) < Gk síphōn, sphōn pipe, tube

Related forms:
si⋅phon⋅al, si⋅phon⋅ic  [sahy-fon-ik] , adjective
si⋅phon⋅less, adjective
si⋅phon⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To siphonal
si·phon also sy·phon   (sī'fən)   


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n.  

  1. A pipe or tube fashioned or deployed in an inverted U shape and filled until atmospheric pressure is sufficient to force a liquid from a reservoir in one end of the tube over a barrier higher than the reservoir and out the other end.

  2. Zoology A tubular organ, especially of aquatic invertebrates such as squids or clams, by which water is taken in or expelled.

v.   si·phoned also sy·phoned, si·phon·ing also sy·phon·ing, si·phons also sy·phons

v.   tr.
To draw off or convey through or as if through a siphon.
v.   intr.
To pass through a siphon.

[Middle English, from Latin sīphō, sīphōn-, from Greek sīphōn.]
si'phon·al, si·phon'ic (sī-fŏn'ĭk) 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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Word Origin & History

siphon  (n.)
1659, from Fr. siphon (1611), from L. sipho (gen. siphonis), from Gk. siphon "pipe, tube," of unknown origin. The verb is attested from 1859; fig. sense of "to draw off, divert" is recorded from 1940.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

siphon si·phon (sī'fən)
n.
A tube bent into an inverted U shape of unequal lengths, used to remove fluid by means of atmospheric pressure from a cavity or reservoir at one end of the tube over a barrier and out the other end. v. si·phoned, si·phon·ing, si·phons

  1. To draw off or convey through a siphon.

  2. To pass through a siphon.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
siphon   (sī'fən)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A pipe or tube in the form of an upside-down U, filled with liquid and arranged so that the pressure of the atmosphere forces liquid to flow upward from a container through the tube, over a barrier, and into a lower container.

  2. A tubular animal part, as of a clam, through which water is taken in or expelled.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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