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 orswelled . - 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
-
Sofaid pass are two or three of the small pulvinate Statices,
Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries William Griffith
qroqqa commented on the word pulvinate
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