reticulationn.
/rᵻˌtɪkjᵿˈleɪʃn/, U.S. /rəˌtɪkjəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/, /riˌtɪkjəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ 1.
a. A network; an arrangement of lines or markings resembling a net; reticulated structure or arrangement; (in plural) the elements of which such a network is composed. Also: the process of producing such an appearance on a surface, esp. of metal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > intersection > [noun] > structure resembling network
netOE
webworkc1175
network1590
reticulation1663
spider-web1699
mesh1712
reticulum1722
reticle1790
spider-workc1812
meshwork1830
sagene1846
web1851
chainwork1864
ribwork1892
meshing1907
1663 E. Waterhouse Fortescutus Illustratus xxxii. 416 Therefore..ramificated, thickned and strengthned by their reticulation.
1672 N. Grew Anat. Veg. vii. 176 Small Branches..all meeting and making a kind of Reticulation.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Masonry Net Masonry, call'd Reticulation, from its Resemblance of the Mashes of a Net.
1775 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 65 105 When the water is shallow, or the depth of the carina is contracted, these reticulations appear like many irregular longitudinal plicæ.
1841 E. Forbes Hist. Brit. Starfishes 84 At the angles of the reticulations arise conical blunt spines.
1863 M. J. Berkeley Handbk. Brit. Mosses 44 The reticulation of the leaves is often indicative of natural affinity.
1886 Ibis July 225 Charadriidæ having the tarsus covered..with a network of fine hexagonal reticulations.
1939 E. A. Bessey Text-bk. Mycol. (new ed.) xii. 335 A flat surface which later is thrown into folds and irregular reticulations with..basidia on the edges of the ridges.
1977 O. W. Richards & R. G. Davies Imms's Gen. Textbk. Entomol. (ed. 10) I. 63 It [sc. a network of wing veins] is probably represented by the dense reticulation present in certain orders of Exopterygota.
1991 Ornament Autumn 27/3 The display is grouped by contemporary goldsmithing techniques: reticulation and other means of texturing, [etc.].
2005 P. F. Hamilton Judas Unchained xviii. 895 A tangerine reticulation sprang up to mimic the planetary system layout and size-adjusted until it synchronized with the sensor imagery.
b. Chiefly Photography. (The formation of) a network of wrinkles or cracks in a photographic emulsion or other thin layer of a substance such as varnish.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [noun] > frilling or wrinkling
reticulation1857
frilling1880
1857 Photogr. Notes 1 Nov. 406 (advt.) The Colloidions prepared with the above, yield films, on drying, transparent and free from reticulation.
1929 R. H. Goodsall Beginner's Guide Photogr. vi. 36 The removal of a negative from a comparatively warm bath of developer to a cold fixing solution..may cause ‘frilling’ or reticulation, i.e. curious wavy marks in the gelatine.
1977 J. Hedgecoe Photographer's Handbk. 241 Modern films have built-in resistance to reticulation.
2003 S. Rivers & N. Umney Conservation of Furnit. xiii. 625/1 Successive coats do not cause reticulation in lower layers.
c. Chiefly Australian, New Zealand, and South African. A network of pipes used for water supply and irrigation; distribution of water via such a network. Also in extended use: provision of a utility supply network. Frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > conduit, channel, or tube > pipe > system or arrangement of
piping1729
pipework1849
pipeline1856
reticulation1859
ring main1868
plumbinga1929
grid1943
1859 Argus (Melbourne) 25 Feb. 7/1 Evidence..as to the properties of water after it has passed through the reticulation pipes.
1901 Minutes Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 143 78 The water in the city reticulation is in almost exact accordance with the relative proportion of water from the two main systems.
1936 Jrnl. Royal Soc. W. Austral. 22 p. xxi The Government has helped..to meet the increased demand for water:—1. By reticulation from the Mundaring–Kalgoorlie pipe-line.
1977 N.Z. Herald 8 Jan. ii. 10/4 (advt.) Two plumbers... The contract involves complete reticulation of bedroom wings in conjunction with building renovations.
1991 Jrnl. Southern Afr. Stud. 17 464 Such development..requires a more elaborate water reticulation system.
2007 Daily Disp. (E. London, S. Afr.) 23 Apr. 21/2 (advt.) The contract comprises installation of water and sewer reticulation.
2. figurative. Netlike structure; an abstract thing that resembles a net, as by being intricate and interweaving, or by tending to enclose, encompass, or ensnare.
ΚΠ
1817 Monthly Rev. Mar. 286 If human ingenuity could improve the structure of language, from the loosely piled monosyllables of the Chinese to the exquisite reticulation of the Greek, [etc.].
1839 T. Carlyle Chartism ii. 14 The question, Is thrift increasing? runs through the reticulation, and is as water spilt on the ground.
1855 J. L. Motley Rise Dutch Republic I. ii. 279 The minute reticulations of tyranny which he had begun already to spin about a whole people.
1878 P. Bayne Chief Actors Puritan Revol. iii. 82 Penetrating with the fine reticulation of its common Christian sentiment into recesses of the German forests.
1932 O. Lattimore Manchuria viii. 205 The newcomer is certain of finding his man so long as he works through the reticulation of Shantung men and Shantung interests.
2002 T. W. Luke Museum Polit. vii. 126 The contextual reticulation of such rhetorical expositions always must be considered.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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