Meniscus

3 definitions found

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

  Meniscus \Me*nis"cus\, n.; pl. L. {Menisci} (-s[imac]), E.
     {Meniscuses}. [NL., from Gr. mhni`skos, dim. of mh`nh the
     moon.]
     1. A crescent.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Opt.) A lens convex on one side and concave on the other.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Anat.) An interarticular synovial cartilage or membrane;
        esp., one of the intervertebral synovial disks in some
        parts of the vertebral column of birds.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Converging meniscus}, {Diverging meniscus}. See {Lens}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  meniscus
       n : a disk of cartilage that serves as a cushion between the
           ends of bones that meet at a point
       [also: {menisci} (pl)]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  36 Moby Thesaurus words for "meniscus":
     achromatic lens, astigmatic lens, burning glass, camera,
     coated lens, concave lens, concavo-convex lens, condenser,
     convex lens, crescent, crescent moon, eyeglass, eyepiece, glass,
     half-moon, hand lens, horseshoe, lens, lunula, lunule, magnifier,
     magnifying glass, object glass, objective, objective prism, ocular,
     prism, reader, reading glass, scythe, semicircle, sickle,
     telephoto lens, toric lens, varifocal lens, zoom lens