APOPHYSIS (apophyses)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: apophyses   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does apophysis mean? 

• APOPHYSIS (noun)
  The noun APOPHYSIS has 2 senses:

1. (botany) a natural swelling or enlargement: at the base of the stalk or seta in certain mosses or on the cone scale of certain conifers

2. (anatomy) a natural outgrowth or projection on an organ or body part such as the process of a vertebra

  Familiarity information: APOPHYSIS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• APOPHYSIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(botany) a natural swelling or enlargement: at the base of the stalk or seta in certain mosses or on the cone scale of certain conifers

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("apophysis" is a kind of...):

enation; plant process (a natural projection or outgrowth from a plant body or organ)

Domain category:

botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)

Derivation:

apophyseal (of or relating to an apophysis)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(anatomy) a natural outgrowth or projection on an organ or body part such as the process of a vertebra

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Hypernyms ("apophysis" is a kind of...):

appendage; outgrowth; process (a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant)

Domain category:

anatomy; general anatomy (the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals)

Holonyms ("apophysis" is a part of...):

vertebra (one of the bony segments of the spinal column)

Derivation:

apophyseal (of or relating to an apophysis)