† distractileadj.
Obsolete.
Capable of being drawn asunder or stretched, extensible; of or relating to stretching. (Cf. contractile adj.) In Botany applied by Richard to anthers in which the cells are separated by a very long and narrow connective.
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the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > pliableness > [adjective] > elastic > stretchable
stretchable1398
extensible1611
extensive1612
tensible1626
tensile1626
reaching1651
distendible1673
extendible1693
distractile1709
distensile1739
extensile1744
elastic1781
distensible1828
distensive1836
stretchy1854
stretching1897
two-way stretch1932
1709 F. Hauksbee Physico-mech. Exper. (ed. 2) v. 117 These distractile Tubes will be..compress'd by that incumbent Weight.
1726 A. Monro Anat. Nerves (1741) 36 Muscular Fibres are distractile, or capable of being stretched.
1748 B. Langrish Croonean Lect. Muscular Motion 14 This distractile Power must always be the Occasion of some Degree of Tension in them.
1835 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (1848) I. 343 In Salvia..the connective has been called by Richard distractile.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online June 2019).
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adj.1709