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dendriform

 
Dictionary: den·dri·form   (dĕn'drə-fôrm') pronunciation

adj.
Shaped like or having the form of a tree.


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Wordsmith Words: dendriform
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(DEN-druh-form)

adjective
In the shape of a tree.

Etymology
From Greek dendron (tree), from which stem dendritic (treelike or tree-branch like) and dendrochronology (the study of a tree's age by counting its rings)

The shape of the herpes simplex virus when it attacks the cornea is dendriform. The herpes simplex virus is not only a cause of the common "cold sore" that one can get on one's lips, but is also an infectious cause of ocular pain and visual loss. When herpes simplex virus attacks the cornea, it can appear in many different ways, the most classical of which is as a "tree-branching" ulcer, which leads to the very visual adjective "dendriform" ulcer.
-Guest wordsmith Vincent de Luise, MD (eyemusic73ATaol.com)

Usage
"The story is classic Garcia Marquez. Its effect is rich. Multi-tentacled. Dendriform." — Marie Arana; The Love of His Life; The Washington Post; Nov 6, 2005.


Medical Dictionary: den·dri·form
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(dĕn'drə-fôrm')
adj.

Being tree-shaped, branching.

WordNet: dendriform
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The adjective has one meaning:

Meaning #1: resembling a tree in form and branching structure
  Synonyms: arboreal, arboreous, arborescent, arboresque, arboriform, dendroid, dendroidal, treelike, tree-shaped


 
 
Learn More
dendritic
dendroid
Alcyonacea (cnidaria)

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company Read more
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