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RACHIS
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: rhachises
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The series of vertebrae forming the axis of the skeleton and protecting the spinal cord
Example:
the fall broke his back
Synonyms:
back; backbone; rachis; spinal column; spine; vertebral column
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("rachis" is a kind of...):
skeletal structure (any structure created by the skeleton of an organism)
Meronyms (parts of "rachis"):
canalis vertebralis; spinal canal; vertebral canal (the canal in successive vertebrae through which the spinal cord passes)
coccyx; tail bone (the end of the vertebral column in humans and tailless apes)
vertebra (one of the bony segments of the spinal column)
intervertebral disc; intervertebral disk (a fibrocartilaginous disc serving as a cushion between all of the vertebrae of the spinal column (except between the first two))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "rachis"):
notochord (a flexible rodlike structure that forms the supporting axis of the body in the lowest chordates and lowest vertebrates and in embryos of higher vertebrates)
chine (backbone of an animal)
Holonyms ("rachis" is a part of...):
axial skeleton (the part of the skeleton that includes the skull and spinal column and sternum and ribs)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Axis of a compound leaf or compound inflorescence
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("rachis" is a kind of...):
axis (the main stem or central part about which plant organs or plant parts such as branches are arranged)
