rachis
[noun]
Synonyms: spine, back, backbone, spinal column, vertebrae, vertebral column

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

rachis noun. ['reɪkɪs] Also (esp. Botany) rhachis. Pl. -ides [-ɪdi:z]. L18.
[mod. Latin, from Greek rhakhis, rhakios spine, ridge, etc.: pl. by false analogy with cuspis, iris, etc.]
1. Botany. The main axis of a compound leaf (esp. the frond of a fern) or of an inflorescence. L18.

2. Anatomy. The vertebral column, or the primitive cord from which it develops. rare. M19.
b. Zoology. The axial part of the odontophore of a mollusc. M19.

3. Ornithology. The shaft of a feather, esp. the part bearing the vanes. L19.

■ rachial adjective (chiefly Botany) of, pertaining to, or having a rachis M19.

■ ra'chidial adjective rachial, rachidian; Medicine spinal: E20.

■ ra'chidian adjective (chiefly Zoology) of or pertaining to a rachis M19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲