| 释义 |
stim·u·lus
\ˈstimyələs sometimes ÷-məl-\ noun
(plural stimu·li \-ˌlī also -ˌlē\)
Etymology: Latin, goad, incentive; akin to Latin stilus stake, stylus — more at style
1. : something that rouses the mind or spirits or incites to activity : incentive
< the war proved a stimulus to agriculture, industry, and commerce — American Guide Series: New Jersey >
2. : something that produces a temporary increase of physiological activity in an organism or in any of its parts; especially : an agent (as an environmental change) capable of directly influencing the activity of living protoplasm (as by inducing a tropism, exciting a sensory end organ, or evoking muscular contraction or glandular secretion) — see heterologous stimulus, homologous stimulus |