rhachis Meaning, Definition & Usage

Rha"chis noun
Etymology
See Rachis.
Wordforms
plural E Rhachises L Rhachides
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) The spine.
  2. (Bot.) (a) The continued stem or midrib of a pinnately compound leaf, as in a rose leaf or a fern. (b) The principal axis in a raceme, spike, panicle, or corymb.
  3. (Zoöl.) (a) The shaft of a feather. The rhachis of the after-shaft, or plumule, is called the hyporhachis. (b) The central cord in the stem of a crinoid. (c) The median part of the radula of a mollusk. (d) A central cord of the ovary of nematodes.

Webster 1913