| 释义 |
cen·trip·e·tal
\(ˈ)sen.|tripəd.əl, -pətəl, esp Brit also |sen.trə̇|pēt-\ adjective
Etymology: New Latin centripetus (from centri- + -petus, from Latin petere to go toward, seek) + English -al — more at feather
1. : moving, proceeding, or acting in a direction toward a center or axis
< centripetal acceleration of a body >
— opposed to centrifugal
2.
a. : developing and expanding successively upward and inward toward the summit or center — used of the flowers of an inflorescence
b. : having the radicle turned toward the axis of the fruit — used of an embryo
3. : passing inward (as from a sense organ to the brain or spinal cord) : afferent
4. : tending toward centralization : unifying, integrative
< one of the chief centripetal factors in the empire, a power which automatically held the parts together — John Buchan > |