Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One of a bundle of needlelike crystals of calcium oxalate occurring in many plant cells.
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- noun biochemistry A
crystal ofcalcium oxalate , shaped like a needle, which forms as ametabolic byproduct in someplant cells .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[French, sing. of raphides, from New Latin, from Greek rhaphides, pl. of rhaphis, needle, from rhaptein, to sew; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]
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hernesheir commented on the word raphide
A needle-shaped crystal of calcium carbonate or more commonly calcium oxalate found within idioblasts of plant cells. Generally raphides occur in bundles. A.k.a. raphis.
September 27, 2009