1.
[syn: meniscus, semilunar cartilage]
2. (optics) a lens that is concave on one side and convex on the other;
3. (physics) the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a vertical tube;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Meniscus \Me*nis"cus\, n.; pl. L. Menisci (-s[imac]), E.
Meniscuses. [NL., from Gr. mhni`skos, dim. of mh`nh the
moon.]
1. A crescent.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Opt.) A lens convex on one side and concave on the other.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Anat.) An interarticular synovial cartilage or membrane;
esp., one of the intervertebral synovial disks in some
parts of the vertebral column of birds.
[1913 Webster]
Converging meniscus, Diverging meniscus. See Lens.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
meniscus
n 1: (anatomy) a disk of cartilage that serves as a cushion
between the ends of bones that meet at a joint [syn:
meniscus, semilunar cartilage]
2: (optics) a lens that is concave on one side and convex on the
other
3: (physics) the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid
in a vertical tube
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
36 Moby Thesaurus words for "meniscus":
achromatic lens, astigmatic lens, burning glass, camera,
coated lens, concave lens, concavo-convex lens, condenser,
convex lens, crescent, crescent moon, eyeglass, eyepiece, glass,
half-moon, hand lens, horseshoe, lens, lunula, lunule, magnifier,
magnifying glass, object glass, objective, objective prism, ocular,
prism, reader, reading glass, scythe, semicircle, sickle,
telephoto lens, toric lens, varifocal lens, zoom lens