apophysis

English edit

From Ancient Greek ἀπόφυσις (apóphusis, “offshoot”), from ἀπό (apó) + φύω (phúō, “to bring forth”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to exist, to grow”). Equivalent to apo- +‎ -physis.

apophysis (plural apophyses)

(anatomy) A natural outgrowth, swelling or enlargement, usually of an organism; a protuberance on a bone.
- 1836, E. A. Poe, Maelzel's Chess-Player:
  Every bone in the real duck had its representative in the automaton, and its wings were anatomically exact. Every cavity, apophysis, and curvature was imitated, and each bone executed its proper movements.
(botany) The external part of a cone scale.
(geology) A branch of a dike or vein.
- 1980, U.S. Government Printing Office, Geological Survey Professional Paper, Volume 1119
  Minor palingenetic magmas probably were generated at this time and intruded the mantling rocks in the form of small sills and apophyses; [...]

Derived terms

outgrowth

part of a cone

branch