Acyclic

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Acyclic \A*cyc"lic\, a. [Pref. a- not + cyclic.]
     Not cyclic; not disposed in cycles or whorls; as:
     (a) (Bot.) Of a flower, having its parts inserted spirally on
         the receptacle.
     (b) (Org. Chem.) Having an open-chain structure; aliphatic.
         [Webster 1913 Suppl.]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  acyclic
       adj 1: botany; not cyclic; especially having parts arranged in
              spirals rather than whorls [ant: {cyclic}]
       2: chemistry; not cyclic; having an open chain structure [syn:
          {open-chain}] [ant: {cyclic}]