English

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek ἀπόφυσις (apóphusis, offshoot), from ἀπό (apó) + φύω (phúō, to bring forth), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (to exist, to grow). Equivalent to apo- +‎ -physis.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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apophysis (plural apophyses)

  1. (anatomy) A natural outgrowth, swelling or enlargement, usually of an organism; a protuberance on a bone.
    • 1836, E. A. Poe, Maelzel's Chess-Player:
      Every bone in the real duck had its representative in the automaton, and its wings were anatomically exact. Every cavity, apophysis, and curvature was imitated, and each bone executed its proper movements.
    • 1913, A. Randell Jackson, “On the British Spiders of the Genus Microneta”, in Transactions of the Natural History Society of Northumberland, page 128:
      In the male each palpal tibia shows a long narrow apophysis on the outerside.
  2. (botany) The external part of a cone scale.
  3. (geology) A branch of a dike or vein.

Derived terms

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Translations

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