stria noun. ['strʌɪǝ] Pl. striae ['strʌɪi:]. M16.
[Latin = furrow, grooving. Cf. STRIOLA.]
1. Architecture. A fillet between the flutes of a column, pilaster, etc. M16.
2. a. Chiefly Science. A small groove, channel, or ridge; a narrow streak, stripe, or band of distinctive colour, structure, or texture; esp. each of two or more. L17.
b. Medicine. A purple streak on the skin appearing in certain fevers; a stretch mark (freq. with mod. Latin specifying word). M19.
c. Glass-making. An imperfection in the form of a streak or band. Now rare. M19.
d. Electricity. Each of the alternate bright and dark bands observed in Geissler tubes during an electric discharge. M19.
Phrases: stria albicans ['albɪkanz], pl. -cantes [-'kanti:z], [= being white] Medicine a former stretch mark that has become pale and silvery following delivery. stria atrophica [a'trɒfɪkǝ], pl. -cae [-ki:] [=atrophic] Medicine a stretch mark. stria gravidarum [gravɪ'dɑ:rǝm] [= of a pregnant woman] Medicine a stretch mark on the abdomen of a pregnant woman, usu. darker than the surrounding skin.

■ striaeform adjective having the form or structure of striae E19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲