Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A central point or focus of infection by bacteria or other pathogens.
- noun A point or place at which something originates, accumulates, or develops, such as the center around which a calculus forms.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
nest for insects or small animals - noun A
locus of infection in an organism - noun An originating point for a phenomenon
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Tyndall had shown that in the moving particles of fine dust discovered by a ray of light in a dark room the germs of low forms of life, which would cause putrefaction, were ever present, and ready to spring into life when a favorable "nidus" for the development of the organism was provided.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 358, November 11, 1882 Various
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Such was the 'nidus' or soil, which constituted, in the strict sense of the word, the circumstances of Milton's mind.
Literary Remains, Volume 1 Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1803
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This observation of conflicting statements became the nidus forming PMW, a foundation which Itamar continues to direct today.
Qanta Ahmed, MD: The Adventures of Itamar Marcus and the Hamas Bunny: Palestine at Play 2010
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Such expanded, compassionate use programs with monitoring using the system we suggest could be the nidus of a transformation in the willingness of patients, companies, the FDA, Congress and society at large to support phase IV trials, albeit in innovative more cost-effective new ways, such as what we suggest.
Sunil Chacko: Innovations in Phase IV Clinical Trials for Change in Health Care 2009
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But where Social Security established the nidus of a public institution that grew over time, the Senate bill proscribes any such new public institution.
Compulsory Private Health Insurance: Just Another Bailout for the Financial Sector? 2009
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I envision the club serving as a nidus for an after-school science club.
Newtonian poetry doyle 2009
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The understory is characterized by extensive moss growth, both on the ground and on trees, as well as by the occurrence of epiphytic orchids such as Asplenium nidus and ferns such as Freycinetia sp.
Ujung Kulon National Park and Krakatau Nature Reserve, Indonesia 2009
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“Niche” entered English in the 17th century, a borrowing from the French, who had borrowed it from the Latin nidus nest.
The Grammarphobia Blog » Blog Archive » A nitch to scratch 2009
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Other common tree species include Calophyllum inophyllum, Pandanus tectorius, Hernandia nymphaeifolia, Ficus tinctoria, Guettarda speciosa, the shrubs Suriana maritime, and Pemphis acidula, the fern Asplenium nidus, and the vine Ipomoea tuba.
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In this case, should the hands of the milker be affected with little accidental sores to any extent, every sore would become the nidus of infection and feel the influence of the virus; and the degree of violence in the constitutional symptoms would be in proportion to the number and to the state of these local affections.
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