semilunaradj.n.
/sɛmɪˈl(j)uːnə/ A. adj. Half-moon-shaped; crescentic. (Cf. lunar adj. 3)
a. in general use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [adjective] > crescent-shaped
hornedc1400
semilunar1598
crescent1603
moony1605
mooned1607
half-mooned1611
lunary1623
lunar1635
semilunary1638
lunated1673
lunulated1705
moon-shaped1709
semi-lunated1726
lunular1728
lunulate1760
sickle-shaped1764
crescent-shaped1776
lunate1777
moonified1795
crescented1818
crescentic1835
semilunate1841
crescentric1851
demilune1885
crescentoid1887
1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 17 b/1 The Knife is of the Latinistes callede ‘Culter excisorius lunatus’, in Englishe a semi-lunare cutting Knife.
1717 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 30 556 Some exactly Square, some oblong Square, some Semi-lunar.
1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 188 A beautiful semilunar bay.
1795 A. Seward Lett. (1811) IV. 102 A semilunar seat, beneath its boughs, admits four people.
1865 J. Lubbock Prehist. Times iii. 74 It is probable that the semi-lunar instruments were fixed in wooden handles, and then used in cleaning skins.
b. Zoology, Botany, and Anatomy (e.g. semilunar cartilage, semilunar fold, semilunar ganglion, semilunar valve: see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > shape > [adjective] > other shapes
plummet-like1605
semilunar1681
cordated1698
cordate1760
obcordate1775
club-shaped1776
flabelliform1777
obovate1785
button-shaped1791
clavate1803
placentiform?a1808
obovoid1819
valviform1819
constricted1826
vulviform1829
mitrate1836
bipenniform1842
sandaliform1848
scopiform1852
obclavate1856
obcordiform1857
oboval1857
utriform1860
broadsword-shaped1870
placentoid1885
hypsiloid1886
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. ii. 103 The Snout [sc. of the River-Whale] flat. Both the Chaps before of a Semilunar figure.
1719 J. Quincy Lexicon Physico-medicum (1722) Semilunar Valves, thus called from their resemblance in shape to a half moon.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Semi-Lunar Valves,..are little Valves or Membranes of a Semilunar Figure, placed in the Orifice of the Pulmonary Artery, to prevent the Relapse of the Blood into the Heart at the time of its Dilatation.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) All the species of the semi~lunar shells have few convolutions.
1765 Philos. Trans. 1764 (Royal Soc.) 54 180 In the abdomen this nerve unites with the par vagum of the right side, and together form the great semi-lunar Ganglion.
1769 T. Pennant in Philos. Trans. 1768 (Royal Soc.) 58 93 Between the toes is a strong semilunar membrane.
1831 R. Knox tr. H. Cloquet Syst. Human Anat. (ed. 2) 133 The Semilunar Bone (os Lunatum), is smaller and less elongated than the scaphoid. Its upper surface is convex and smooth.
1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 84/2 The lacrymal caruncle and semilunar fold.
1840 E. Wilson Anatomist's Vade Mecum (1842) 69 The semilunar bone may be known by having a crescentic concavity, and a somewhat crescentic outline.
1852 J. D. Dana U.S. Exploring Exped.: Crustacea Pt. I 474 The nasal opening in males is irregularly semilunar.
1871 C. Darwin Descent of Man I. i. 23 In man..[the third eyelid] exists..as a mere rudiment, called the semilunar fold.
1873 St. G. Mivart Lessons Elem. Anat. v. 183 Two inter-articular cartilages, called semilunar, are..interposed between the cartilaginous articular surfaces of the femur and those of the tibia.
B. n.
A semilunar bone, valve, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > types of bones > [noun] > according to shape
seed-bone1615
pessulus1805
sesamoid1854
colonnette1872
scale1875
semilunar1893
1893 S. J. Gee Auscult. & Percuss. i. iii. 50 That the closure of the aortic semilunars precedes that of the pulmonary semilunars.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1598