Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Circular or spherical.
- adjective Botany Circular and flat. Used especially of leaves.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In petrography, in phanerocrystal-line igneous rocks, having large spheroidal aggregations of minerals, in radial or concentric groups of megascopic crystals: as, orbicular granite, orbicular diorite.
- Having the shape of an orb or orbit; spherical; circular; discoidal; round.
- Rounded; complete; perfect.
- In entomology, having a regularly rounded surface and bordered by a circular margin: as, the orbicular pronotum of a beetle.
- In botany, having the shape of a flat body with a nearly circular outline: as, an orbicular leaf. Also
orbiculate . - noun In entomology, a circular mark or spot nearly always found on the anterior wings of the noctuid moths.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Resembling or having the form of an orb; spherical; circular; orbiculate.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Circular orspherical in shape;round .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective having the shape of a sphere or ball
- adjective circular or nearly circular
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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A couple of basketballs (multiple orbicular adjacencies) sitting (self-referentially abiding) in an empty aquarium (post-emptively vacated) looks pretty much the same no matter how described: obfuscatory, vacuous, goofy, uninspiring.
It Is Perfectly Clear: Multiple Orbicular Adjacencies Abide 2008
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But, in this case, he included an interesting observation: “…the operculum is orbicular, and so small as to admit of the animal retiring one half the length of the shell.”
Archive 2006-06-01 AYDIN 2006
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F.R.S. Lamarck separated the mother-of-pearls shell (MARGARITA) from the swallow-tail muscles (AVICULA) on account of its more orbicular shape.
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The world is spherical; the orbicular hath the pre-eminence above all other figures, for being round itself it hath its parts like itself.
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Empedocles, before the four elements, introduceth the most minute bodies which resemble elements; but they did exist before the elements, having similar parts and orbicular.
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There is another tree with orbicular leaves in pairs, which grows to an immense size.
Unbeaten Tracks in Japan Isabella Lucy 2004
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Assuredly, fire is borne aloft, is without a soul, is easily quenchable and corruptible; but the sun is orbicular and animate, eternal and imperishable.
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The Suffet had collected his men into an orbicular mass, in such
Salammbo 2003
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The leaves are extremely varied, from deeply cordate to almost orbicular, 4-20 cm long, opposite or alternate.
Chapter 37 1987
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The leaves are cordate-orbicular to ovate-orbicular, strongly acuminate, 15-30 cm long and broad; the petioles are thickened at the base with ear like projections that often encircle the stem.
Chapter 37 1987
milosrdenstvi commented on the word orbicular
I do not speak it in vanity, but simply record the fact, that I was not unemployed in my profession by the late John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and rings like unto bullion.
-- Bartleby the Scrivener
November 21, 2009