monocyclicadj.
/ˌmɒnə(ʊ)ˈsʌɪklɪk/, U.S. /ˌmɑnəˈsaɪklɪk/, /ˌmɑnəˈsɪklɪk/ 1. Mathematics. Involving, having, or consisting of a single closed curve, circuit, or cycle. Now rare.
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the world > relative properties > number > geometry > curve > [adjective] > having certain property
mechanical1694
intercepted1702
rectifiable1706
transcendental1706
tortuous1867
monocyclic1869
bicursal1873
irreconcilable1881
closed1882
anautotomic1901
fractal1975
1869 W. Thomson in Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. 25 253 Irrotational motion may be either acyclic or cyclic. If cyclic it is monocyclic if there is only one distinct circuit, or polycyclic if there are several distinct circuits, in which there is circulation.
1888 A. B. Basset Treat. Hydrodynamics I. iv. 75 Every polycyclic function may be expressed as the sum of..monocyclic functions.
1903 Sci. Abstr. A. 6 130 To represent the thermo-elastic properties of gases, liquids, and solids as the statical properties of monocyclic systems.
1927 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 49 254 We now show how to express the general polycyclic invariant..in terms of monocyclic invariants.
1972 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 168 388 It was required that all cyclic r-patterns considered be monocyclic r-patterns.
2. Zoology.† b. Of a holothurian: having the tentacles arranged in a single circle or series. Obsolete. rare.
a. Of a crinoid: having a single circle of basal plates.
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1871 E. Beyrich in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 7 395 For the sake of brevity, I will indicate the divided bases, according to whether one or two circles are present, as monocyclic or dicyclic.
1882 F. H. Carpenter in Q. Jrnl. Microsc. Sci. 22 377 The monocyclic Comatulæ.
1900 E. R. Lankester Treat. Zool. III. 111 Monocyclic and dicyclic genera should not be placed in the same line of descent.
1946 H. Woods Palæontol. Invertebr. (ed. 8) 161 In some forms there is below the basals and alternating with them another row of plates (five or three), termed infra-basals.., and the base is then said to be dicyclic; when basals only are present, it is monocyclic.
1961 J. Stubblefield Davies's Introd. Palaeontol. (ed. 3) viii. 186 In many crinoids the top columnal directly joins the basals; such crinoids are monocyclic.
1993 Lethaia 26 303 Reinterpretation of crinoid thecal plate homology..indicates that two-circlet (monocyclic) crinoids may be derived from three-circlet (dicyclic) taxa.
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1895 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. II. at Mono- Monocyclic,..having uniserial tentacles; of or pertaining to the Monocyclia.
3. Botany. Having a group of structures (e.g. vascular bundles, members of a series of floral organs, etc.) arranged in a single whorl or ring.
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the world > plants > part of plant > (defined by) distribution, arrangement, or position > [adjective] > in verticil or whorl (of arrangement) > arranged in verticil or whorl > arranged in number of whorls
bicyclic1880
monocyclic1882
tricyclic1900
1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) iv. 601 (note) When the members of a series (calyx, corolla, etc.) are in one whorl, the series is said to be monocyclic.
1891 New Sydenham Soc. Lexicon Monocyclic, having the members of a series all in one whorl.
1895 S. H. Vines Students' Text-bk. Bot. II. iii. 501 The simplest case is that in which each series of floral organs..occupies a single whorl, or is monocyclic.
1972 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 59 429/1 All zonocyclic flowers are monocyclic in their very base, before the strands have divided.
1995 Internat. Jrnl. Plant Sci. 156 913/1 Stomated ledges of guard cells conspicuous and plain (fig. 7), subsidiary cells monocyclic.
4. U.S. Electrical Engineering. Designating a system or arrangement of electrical equipment for the transmission of currents in a combined lighting and power service. Cf. polycyclic adj. 4. Now historical.
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1894 U.S. Patent 533,244 I, Charles P. Steinmetz..have invented certain..improvements in Systems of Distribution by Alternating Currents... The present invention comprises what I term a monocyclic system of distribution.
1981 M. Cheney Tesla (1989) v. 42 In an attempt to evade the Tesla patents, General Electric filed an application for what was called the ‘monocyclic’ system of their brilliant mathematician, Charles Steinmetz.
5. Biology. Having a single cycle of activity or development; having a single generation in a season; having a life span of a single season.
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1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms 161/2 Monocyclic, annual plants.
1935 Ecol. Monogr. 5 123 A di-cyclic type of plancton [sic] development has been noted by many authors in the Swiss lakes, while..the Baltic lakes have a mono-cyclic type.
1966 W. T. Stearn Bot. Latin 465/1 Such plants, which flower and fruit but once and then die, may be annual or monocyclic (annuus), biennial or dicyclic (biennis), lasting for several years or polycyclic (plietesialis).
1987 New Phytologist 107 459 Including root growth and inoculum density as variables in a simple model of disease progress of a monocyclic root pathogen often leads to a sigmoid curve.
1997 Jrnl. Marine Biol. Assoc. 77 903 The development of the ovaries is monocyclic and the oocyte growth and development is asynchronous.
6. Chemistry. Having a single ring of atoms in the molecule.
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the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > [adjective] > organic structure > cyclic or ring compounds > monocyclic
monocyclic1910
1910 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 97 1616 From this glycol we could obtain a monocyclic terpene.
1939 Nature 26 Aug. 349/1 The detailed consideration of monocyclic compounds is then taken up.
1967 M. E. Hale Biol. Lichens viii. 105 Free monocyclic phenolic substances.
1995 School Sci. Rev. June 71/1 Benzene is the simplest member of a series of monocyclic hydrocarbons of general formula (C2H2)n termed annulenes.
7. Geology. Having undergone a single cycle of erosion or mountain-building.
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the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > erosion or weathering > [adjective] > cycle
monocyclic1952
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > tectonization or diastrophism > [adjective] > orogenesis > type
polyphase1936
monocyclic1952
1952 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 60 188/1 Four general types of landscapes..: (1) simple, monocyclic landscapes which can be fitted to the idealized cycle; (2) complex, multicyclic landscapes which require historical interpretation; (3) compound landscapes..; (4) exhumed landscapes.
1969 G. M. Bennison & A. E. Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles iii. 36 Within both the Caledonian and Lewisian belts there is evidence of several periods of folding and metamorphism and neither represents a simple monocyclic unit.
1990 Canad. Jrnl. Earth Sci. 27 371 After the peak of the Grenvillian metamorphism, the monocyclic rocks were sliced.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1869