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meniscus

The definition of a meniscus is the fibrous cartilage in a knee joint, or the curved upper surface of liquid that touches the sides of a jar, or a lens that is convex on one side and concave on the other.

(noun)

When you have a torn cartilage, this is an example of an injury to the meniscus.
When oil is in a jar and the oil has a curve on the top of its surface, this is an example of meniscus.
When you have a lens of a camera that curves out on one side and in on the other, this is an example of meniscus.

See meniscus in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. meniscuses or menisci

a crescent or crescent-shaped thing
a lens convex on one side and concave on the other
fibrous cartilage within a joint, esp. of the knee
Physics the curved upper surface of a column of liquid: as a result of capillarity it is concave when the walls of the container strongly attract the liquid, as is the case with water, and it is convex when the liquid is more strongly attracted to itself, as is the case with mercury

Origin: ModL < Gr mēniskos, dim. of mēnē, the moon

See meniscus in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. me·nis·ci (-nĭsˈī, -kī, -kē) or me·nis·cus·es

A crescent-shaped body.
A concavo-convex lens.
The curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a container that is concave if the liquid wets the container walls and convex if it does not.
A cartilage disk that acts as a cushion between the ends of bones that meet in a joint.

Origin:

Origin: New Latin

Origin: , from Greek mēniskos

Origin: , diminutive of mēnē, moon, month; see mē-² in Indo-European roots

Related Forms: