Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Shaped like a cushion.
  • adjective Botany Having a swelling at the base. Used of a leafstalk.
  • adjective Architecture Having a convex face or profile.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pulvinar; cushiony; pillowy; pad-like.
  • In botany, cushion-shaped.
  • Also pulviniform.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective (Arch.) Curved convexly or swelled.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Having the form of a cushion.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective architecture Curved convexly or swelled.
  • adjective zoology Having the form of a cushion.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin pulvīnātus, from pulvīnus, cushion.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin pulvinatus, from pulvinus ("a cushion, an elevation").

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Examples

Comments

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  • Their pulvinate bellies were red satin, and it was here that the needles pierced.

    —Zadie Smith, On Beauty

    Adjective of the Latin noun that also gave English 'pillow'.

    May 27, 2009