dictionary definitions for "capillary"


From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Capillary \Cap"il*la*ry\, n.; pl. Capillaries.
     1. A tube or vessel, extremely fine or minute.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Anat.) A minute, thin-walled vessel; particularly one of
        the smallest blood vessels connecting arteries and veins,
        but used also for the smallest lymphatic and biliary
        vessels.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Capillary \Cap"il*la*ry\ (k[a^]p"[i^]l*l[asl]*r[y^] or
     k[.a]*p[i^]l"l[.a]*r[y^]; 277), a. [L. capillaris, fr.
     capillus hair. Cf. Capillaire.]
     1. Resembling a hair; fine; minute; very slender; having
        minute tubes or interspaces; having very small bore; as,
        the capillary vessels of animals and plants.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Pertaining to capillary tubes or vessels; as, capillary
        action.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Capillary attraction, Capillary repulsion, the apparent
        attraction or repulsion between a solid and liquid caused
        by capillarity. See Capillarity, and Attraction.
  
     Capillarity tubes. See the Note under Capillarity.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:

  capillary
      adj 1: of or relating to hair
      2: long and slender with a very small internal diameter; "a
         capillary tube" [syn: capillary, hairlike]
      n 1: a tube of small internal diameter; holds liquid by
           capillary action [syn: capillary, capillary tube,
           capillary tubing]
      2: any of the minute blood vessels connecting arterioles with
         venules [syn: capillary, capillary vessel]


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