torus

(rəs, tôrəs)

noun pl. tori

  1. Anat. any rounded projection or swelling
  2. Archit. a large, convex molding used at the base of columns, etc., just above the plinth
  3. Bot.
    1. receptacle (sense )
    2. a thick spot at the center of the pit membrane in bordered pits of xylem cells
  4. Geom. a surface, or its enclosed solid, generated by the revolution of a conic about any line that is external to the conic but in the same plane, as a doughnut-shaped figure that is generated by a circle or an ellipse

Origin: L, a bulge, muscle

See torus in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. to·ri (tôrˈī, tōrˈī)
  1. Architecture A large convex molding, semicircular in cross section, located at the base of a classical column.
  2. Anatomy A bulging or rounded projection or swelling.
  3. Botany The receptacle of a flower.
  4. Mathematics A toroid generated by a circle; a surface having the shape of a doughnut. Also called tore2.

Origin:

Origin: Latin, bulge, knot, torus

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