vein
vein definition
vein (vān)
noun
- any blood vessel that carries blood from some part of the body back toward the heart
- loosely any blood vessel
- any of the riblike supports strengthening the membranous wings of an insect
- any of the bundles of vascular tissue forming the framework of a leaf blade
- a more or less continuous body of minerals, igneous or sedimentary rock, etc., occupying a fissure or zone, differing in nature from the enclosing rock, and usually deposited from solution by circulating water
- lode (senses 1 & 2)
- a streak or marking of a color or substance different from the surrounding material, as in marble or wood
- any distinctive quality or strain regarded as running through one's character, or a speech, writing, etc. a vein of humor in the essay
- course or tenor of thought, feeling, action, etc.
- a temporary state of mind; mood speaking in a serious vein
Etymology: ME veine < OFr < L vena
transitive verb
- to streak or mark with or as with veins
- to branch out through in the manner of veins
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