tubularadj.n.
/ˈtjuːbjʊlə/ A. adj.
1.
a. Having the form of a tube or pipe; constituting or consisting of a tube; cylindrical, hollow, and open at one or both ends; tube-shaped. tubular bells, a series of tuned metal tubes of graded length vertically suspended and struck by hammers; tubular bridge, a bridge formed of a great tube or hollow beam, usually of wrought iron, through which the roadway passes; tubular goods (Oil Industry) (see quot. 1922); tubular steel, steel tubing, esp. as used in the manufacture of furniture; also attributive.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > of hollow cylindrical form
cannulate?a1425
fistulose?1440
pipedc1520
pipe-like1600
fistulous1601
tubulous1664
tubulary1673
tubular1682
cannulated1684
cannular1698
tubulated1713
tunnelled1713
tubulose1714
pipy1724
tubal1735
tubiform1745
tubulate1753
tube-shaped1760
tubuliform1794
fistuliform1805
tubular-shaped1815
tubed1816
canaliform1826
tunnel-shaped1826
tube-like1849
tunnelly1874
tunnel-like1880
tubar1887
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > bridge > bridge of other specific construction
pile bridge1758
thrusting-bridge1761
frame bridge1809
lock bridge1817
lattice-bridge1838
tubular bridge1850
girder-bridge1854
tubular1861
trestle-bridge1867
deck-bridge1874
transporter-bridge1893
gullet-bridge1896
crib-bridge1899
Bailey bridge1944
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > bell > [noun] > tubular bells
tube-chime1887
tubular bells1919
society > occupation and work > equipment > oil and natural gas recovery equipment > [noun] > drilling equipment
surface casing1877
string1895
tubular goods1922
drill pipe1932
pup joint1937
drill string1948
turbodrill1948
tubular1975
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [noun] > steel in specific form
gad steel1604
wisp-steel1604
steel-plating1825
sheet1884
tubular steel1933
1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants iii. i. iv. 122 The Pins being also conceived to be Tubular.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. xvi. 398 These tubular vessels may be supported with facility..upon the table across two or three pieces of glass.
1850 E. Clark (title) The Britannia and Conway Tubular Bridges.
1872 J. Yeats Techn. Hist. Commerce 243 The idea of tubular bricks is not new, for they were used by the Romans.
1884 J. Harrington Provisional Spec. 14,270 (Patent Office) (1885) 1 Instead of employing the costly gongs or bells hitherto employed, I employ metallic tubes which I suspend vertically by means of catgut, cord or other suitable material... I arrange the hammers so as to strike the same at their upper parts above the point of suspension thereof.]
1919 A. T. Bassett S. Barnabas', Oxf. iii. 25 The original bell of S. Barnabas'..did service until 1890, when a set of tubular bells was hung in the tower, and a chiming machine added.
1922 D. T. Day Handbk. Petroleum Industry I. 300 The term ‘tubular goods’ generally covers all classes of pipe, casing and tubing used in drilling or operating oil or gas wells, and comprises the following distinct types; casing, tubing, drive pipe, line pipe and rotary drill pipe.
1930 Melody Maker Jan. 69/1 Tubular bells are often considered ‘a bit of a bore’ by drummers.
1933 Archit. Rev. 74 78/3 Four double tubular-steel legs shaped like hair-pins.
1946 R. Graves Poems 1938–45 35 Among box-files and tubular steel chairs.
1957 Times 2 July (Agric. Suppl.) p. viii/3 The gate and posts are made of tubular steel.
1962 B.S.I. News May 19/2 Glockenspiel, xylophone, tubular bells, celesta.
1981 Times 3 July 14/7 Marcel Breuer, the Hungarian-born architect..created the first tubular steel furniture..and in 1926 he equipped the new Bauhaus buildings with furniture of this type.
b. Botany: esp. applied to a flower or floret consisting mainly of a tube, with small or inconspicuous limb; spec. to such florets in a composite flower (opposed to ligulate adj.).
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the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [adjective] > of or having florets
semi-flosculous1720
quilled1733
semi-floscular1753
semi-flosculose1760
tubular1776
floscular1793
sesquialteral1793
flosculous1830
tubate1866
1776 J. Lee Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) Explan. Terms 396 Tubulosa, Florets that are all tubular and equal.
1807 J. E. Smith Introd. Physiol. & Systematical Bot. 457 Flowers..with united tubular anthers.
?1877 F. E. Hulme Familiar Wild Flowers I. Summary p. vii Primrose... Calyx tubular, five-toothed.
1880 A. Gray Struct. Bot. vi. §5 248 Tubular..strictly..denotes a gamophyllous perianth with limb inconspicuous..as in Trumpet Honeysuckle.
c. Zoology and Anatomy.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > [adjective] > tubular
tubular1794
1794 R. J. Sulivan View of Nature II. 175 Those of the coral class, of a ramified and tubular form.
1803 W. Bingley Animal Biogr. III. 200 The tongue of the Gnat and some of the flies is short, pointed, and hollow, and through its tubular interior these insects are enabled to draw their nourishment.
1872 E. Coues Key to N. Amer. Birds 29 Rounded nostrils may have a raised border or rim; when this is prolonged they are called tubular.
2. Relating to, or performed by means of, a tube.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > of hollow cylindrical form > relating to or performed by tubes
tubulara1716
a1716 R. Cotes Hydrostatical & Pneumatical. Lect. (1738) sig. Avj Experiments for the most part tubular.
3. Constructed with or consisting of a number of tubes; as a tubular boiler (see also tubulous adj. 2b and cf. tubular-flued adj. at Compounds).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > of hollow cylindrical form > consisting of or having tubes
tubular1804
tunnelled1890
1804 Troughton in Nicholson's Philos. Jrnl. Dec. 225 (title) Description of a Tubular Pendulum.
1804 Troughton in Nicholson's Philos. Jrnl. Dec. 228 The first pendulum which I made of the tubular kind, had only three steel wires, and one tube above the bob.
1813 J. M. Good et al. Pantologia at Pendulum We may date the invention of the tubular pendulum..about the year 1775.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 527 Troughton's tubular-pendulum..is constructed of an exterior tube of brass,..within which is another tube, and five brass wires in its belly.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Tubular-boiler, a boiler consisting of tubes.
1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 6132 Metallic tubular bedsteads.
1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Tubular Boiler, a name properly applicable to a steam-boiler in which the water circulates in pipes,..the fire encircling them.
4.
a. Pathology. (See quot.) ? Obsolete.
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1822 J. M. Good Study Med. I. 239 (heading) Diarrhœa Tubularis. Tubular Looseness. The digestions consi[s]ting more or less of membrane-like tubes, whitish, viscous, and inodorous.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 48 Tubular diarrhœa.
b. Physiology and Pathology. Applied to a high-pitched respiratory murmur, like the sound made by blowing through a tube, heard normally over the trachea and bronchial tubes, and in diseased conditions over the lung.
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the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > sounds heard in body > [adjective] > sounds in auscultation
puerile1821
pectoriloquous1824
large1827
sibilant1833
tubular1834
moist1843
rhonchal1843
pectoriloquial1846
redux1848
murmurish1851
rhonchial1852
bronchophonic1862
sticky1872
coarse1879
skodaic1882
1834 J. Forbes tr. R. T. H. Laennec Treat. Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 119 The stethoscope detected..no other respiratory sound, but that of a dry respiration, evidently tubular or bronchial.
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 205 The breath-sounds are tubular or cavernous—the term ‘tubular’ is used here as synonymous with bronchial.
c. Ophthalmology. Applied to a visual field which is restricted to a small area surrounding the fixation point; tubular vision = tunnel vision n. at tunnel n. Compounds 2.
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the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > with limited visual field
hemiopic1873
hemianopic1889
tubular1903
macula-sparing1935
1903 Hansell & Sweet Text-bk. Dis. of Eye xviii. 488 When his sight had improved the visual fields were still contracted.., showing the so-called ‘tubular’ field of hysteria.
1927 H. M. Traquair Introd. Clin. Perimetry v. 49 A special form of concentric contraction is the ‘tubular’ field. The depression is severe and involves the whole field with the exception of an area surrounding the fixation point, producing a great and often extreme contraction... Such fields are obviously of functional origin.
1927 H. M. Traquair Introd. Clin. Perimetry xii. 222 Hysteria. The typical field change..is concentric contraction... The field is..tubular in type, a form which is necessarily of subjective origin.
1934 Amer. Jrnl. Ophthalmol. 17 384/2 (heading) Transient tubular vision in postencephalitic Parkinson's disease.
1956 Blakiston's New Gould Med. Dict. (ed. 2) 1319/2 Tubular v[ision], a hysterical phenomenon in which the constricted visual field defies the laws of physical projection and maintains a uniform small size..: popularly called gun-barrel v[ision]; tunnel v[ision].
B. n. elliptical.
1. = tubular bridge at sense A. 1a.
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society > travel > means of travel > route or way > other means of passage or access > [noun] > bridge > bridge of other specific construction
pile bridge1758
thrusting-bridge1761
frame bridge1809
lock bridge1817
lattice-bridge1838
tubular bridge1850
girder-bridge1854
tubular1861
trestle-bridge1867
deck-bridge1874
transporter-bridge1893
gullet-bridge1896
crib-bridge1899
Bailey bridge1944
1861 J. A. Symonds Let. 9 Aug. (1967) I. 303 We took a nice walk..to Bangor. We saw 2 trains go through the Tubular—one each way.
2. plural = tubular goods at sense A. 1a.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > oil and natural gas recovery equipment > [noun] > drilling equipment
surface casing1877
string1895
tubular goods1922
drill pipe1932
pup joint1937
drill string1948
turbodrill1948
tubular1975
1975 North Sea Background Notes (Brit. Petroleum Co.) 27 Most of each top deck will be occupied by a skid-mounted, electrically-driven drilling rig with appropriate storage for tubulars.
1979 Shell Trade in Eastern Europe (Shell Internat. Petroleum Co.) 5 Shell companies' purchases from countries in Eastern Europe include oil, chemicals and some metals and materials and equipment such as tubulars, rotary drilling hose, and items for sale in Shell filling-stations.
Compounds
tubular-shaped; esp. in Botany with another adjective, denoting a combination of tubular with another form, as tubular-campanulate, tubular-urceolate; tubular-flued adj. having tubular flues.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adjective] > of hollow cylindrical form
cannulate?a1425
fistulose?1440
pipedc1520
pipe-like1600
fistulous1601
tubulous1664
tubulary1673
tubular1682
cannulated1684
cannular1698
tubulated1713
tunnelled1713
tubulose1714
pipy1724
tubal1735
tubiform1745
tubulate1753
tube-shaped1760
tubuliform1794
fistuliform1805
tubular-shaped1815
tubed1816
canaliform1826
tunnel-shaped1826
tube-like1849
tunnelly1874
tunnel-like1880
tubar1887
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > boiler > [adjective]
low pressure1816
tubular-flued1840
multitubular1849
tubulous1860
Field1865
Stirling1889
double-flued1895
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 825 In a proper cylindrical, almost tubular-shaped vessel, two feet high.
1840 Encycl. Brit. XX. 674/2 These tubular-flued boilers are at the present day extensively used.
1847 W. E. Steele Handbk. Field Bot. 118 [Erica] Mediterranea. Cor[olla] tubular-urceolate.
1870 J. D. Hooker Student's Flora Brit. Islands 379 Polygonatum... Perianth tubular-campanulate.
Derivatives
tubularity n. /-ˈlærɪtɪ/ the quality of being tubular, tubular form of structure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [noun] > quality of being hollow cylinder
tubularity1747
1747 E. M. da Costa in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 44 402 Such different Effects as Solidity and Tubularity.
1890 Manch. Examiner 20 June The special advantage of tubularity in bells seems to be that they are only heard in the immediate neighbour~hood.
1906 Practitioner Nov. 603 Tubularity of the respiratory murmur.
ˈtubularly adv. in a tubular manner, so as to form a tube.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved three-dimensional shape or body > cylinder > [adverb] > in form of hollow cylinder
tubulously1818
tubularly1856
1856 R. Shield Pract. Hints Moths 74 In tubularly rolled leaves of honeysuckle we shall find the larvæ.
Draft additions 1993
a. tubular tyre, a lightweight pneumatic tyre used esp. on racing bicycles, consisting of an inner tube completely encased within an outer covering, which is cemented or otherwise attached to the wheel-rim.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > rubber or pneumatic tyre
rubber1875
tyre1875
tirea1877
pneumatic1890
cushion1891
cushion-tire1891
pneu1891
solid tyre1891
balloon tyre1899
single-tube1904
tubular tyre1908
shoe1917
solid1919
tubular1924
air wheel1930
skin1954
tub1978
1908 ‘Cycling’ Year Bk. 52 With Constrictor tubular tyres, the tyre is simply rolled off the rim, when deflated, and a few inches of the inner tube pulled out by parting the loose threads at the base of the tyre.
1925 G. H. Stancer Tips for Cyclists 24 The tubular tyre consists of an air-tube completely encircled by an outer casing.
1964 Cycling (‘Know the Game’ Ser.) (ed. 3) 16/2 The sprint rims for use with tubular tyres are almost flat and the tyres have to be stuck firmly to the rim with a special adhesive.
1990 San Francisco Chron. 11 June e3/1 The soft swoosh of tubular tires on asphalt and the chuckling chatter of chains from mountain bikes in free-fall descent.
b. slang. (a) Of a cresting wave: hollow and curved, so that it is well-formed for riding on (U.S. Surfing); (b) more generally: wonderful, amazing, ‘fantastic’ (originally and chiefly U.S.).
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the mind > mental capacity > expectation > feeling of wonder, astonishment > quality of inspiring wonder > [adjective]
wonderlyc893
wonderfula1100
wondera1175
wondersa1300
marvellousc1330
marvela1400
marvelly?a1400
mirablec1429
admirablec1450
marvellablec1450
mirific1490
wondrous1509
extonious1548
portentious1549
miraculous1569
geason1572
mirificalc1572
astounding1590
amazing1593
wonderedc1595
admiring1598
prodigious1600
astonishable1603
fabulous1609
wondered-at?1611
necromantic1627
stupendous1640
nigromantic1645
mirandous1652
surprising1665
mirabundous1694
astonishinga1704
wondersome1774
sublime1813
nasty1834
kill-me-quite1842
breathtaking1843
breath-catching1865
miracle-working1867
mouth opening1867
stupefying1870
gee whiz1889
scorching1890
doozy1903
sensational1909
eye-popping1918
wunnerful1924
crashing1931
staggering1934
eyewatering1950
mind-boggling1955
Ozymandian1961
knock-out1966
mind-blowing1966
motherfucking1973
boggling1975
gobsmacking1981
tubular1982
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > [adjective] > type of wave
surfable1938
spooky1966
walled-out1970
tubular1982
A-frame1987
1982 Time 13 Sept. 90/1 (heading) The Zappa's Valley girl becomes, like, a totally tubular national craze—for sure.
1982 Time 13 Sept. 90/1 Tubular (awesome, from a surfers' term for great waves).
1984 Time 11 June 18/3 Surfing is the next best thing to a tubular reef break.
1986 Daily Tel. 23 Sept. 14/1 It would be nice to be able to say that last night's opening round of The Story of English (BBC-2) was ‘tubular’, ‘the max’ or just ‘totally’.
1990 Herbeck & Ross Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 44 They turned to Donatello, who struggled to come up with the perfect word to describe their exploits. But Donatello was at a loss. His brothers continued to top each other: ‘Tubular!’ ‘Radical!’ ‘Dynamite!’
Draft additions 1993
= tubular tyre at Additions a above.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > rubber or pneumatic tyre
rubber1875
tyre1875
tirea1877
pneumatic1890
cushion1891
cushion-tire1891
pneu1891
solid tyre1891
balloon tyre1899
single-tube1904
tubular tyre1908
shoe1917
solid1919
tubular1924
air wheel1930
skin1954
tub1978
1924 Cycling 27 June p. vi (advt.) Tyre news..Tubulars..27/6 each.
1950 A. L. Pullen Cycling Handbk. 43 Tubulars are not only very light but the method of attachment to the rim allows the use of very much lighter rims.
1975 Oxf. Compan. Sports & Games 233/2 As tubulars are sometimes more liable to puncture, hubs are fitted with quick-release levers to facilitate wheel changes.
1988 Cycling Weekly 30 June 84/3 I always check my equipment before and after a race, and if there is a mark on a tubular it is changed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1682