plexus

See also: Plexus

English

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *pel-
Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-der.
Proto-Italic *plektōder.
Latin plectō
Proto-Indo-European *-tus
Proto-Italic *-tus
Latin -tus
Latin plexusbor.
English plexus

    Borrowed from Latin plexus (“a twining, plaiting, braid”).

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈplɛk.səs/
      • Audio (US):(file)
      • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Rhymes: -ɛksəs

    Noun

    plexus (plural plexuses or plexus or plexi)

    1. (anatomy) A network of anastomosing or interwoven nerves, blood vessels, or lymphatic vessels.
      Hyponyms: brachial plexus, cardiac plexus, celiac plexus, choroid plexus, Exner's plexus, internal carotid plexus, pelvic plexus, solar plexus, venous plexus
    2. An interwoven combination of parts or elements in a structure or system.
      • 1911 October 26, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson, or, An Oxford Love Story, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, published 1912, →OCLC:
        Sensitive reader, start not at the apparition! Oxford is a plexus of anomalies. These two youths were (odd as it may seem to you) subject to the same Statutes, affiliated to the same College, reading for the same School; aye! and though the one had inherited half a score of noble and castellated roofs, whose mere repairs cost him annually thousands and thousands of pounds, and the other’s people had but one little mean square of lead, from which the fireworks of the Crystal Palace were clearly visible every Thursday evening, in Oxford one roof sheltered both of them. Furthermore, there was even some measure of intimacy between them. It was the Duke’s whim to condescend further in the direction of Noaks than in any other. He saw in Noaks his own foil and antithesis, and made a point of walking up the High with him at least once in every term. Noaks, for his part, regarded the Duke with feelings mingled of idolatry and disapproval.
      • 1934, Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer, Grove Press, published 1961:
        I have the sensation of being immersed in the very plexus of life, focal from whatever place, position or attitude I take my stance.
    3. (mathematics) The system of equations required for the complete expression of the relations which exist between a set of quantities.
      • 1866, Brande & C, A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art‎[1], page 935:
        Plexus (Lat.). The system of equations required for the complete expression of the relations which exist between a set of quantities.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Translations

    References

    Anagrams

    Dutch

    Pronunciation

    • Audio:(file)

    Noun

    plexus m (plural plexussen, no diminutive)

    1. plexus

    French

    Alternative forms

    Etymology

    Unadapted borrowing from Latin plexus.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /plɛk.sys/
    • Audio (France (Lyon)):(file)

    Noun

    plexus m (uncountable)

    1. (anatomy) plexus

    Further reading

    Latin

    Pronunciation

    Etymology 1

    Perfect passive participle of plectō (“to plait, braid, interweave”).

    Participle

    plexus (feminine plexa, neuter plexum); first/second-declension participle

    1. perfect passive participle of plectō
    2. (pre-classical) involved, intricate, entangled, ambiguous
    Inflection

    First/second-declension adjective.

    singular plural
    masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
    nominative plexus plexa plexum plexī plexae plexa
    genitive plexī plexae plexī plexōrum plexārum plexōrum
    dative plexō plexae plexō plexīs
    accusative plexum plexam plexum plexōs plexās plexa
    ablative plexō plexā plexō plexīs
    vocative plexe plexa plexum plexī plexae plexa

    Etymology 2

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *pel-
    Proto-Indo-European *pleḱ-der.
    Proto-Italic *plektōder.
    Latin plectō
    Proto-Indo-European *-tus
    Proto-Italic *-tus
    Latin -tus
    Latin plexus

      From plectō (“to plait, braid, interweave”) + -tus (action noun suffix).

      Noun

      plexus m (genitive plexūs); fourth declension

      1. (poetic) a twining, plaiting, braid
      Inflection

      Fourth-declension noun.

      singular plural
      nominative plexus plexūs
      genitive plexūs plexuum
      dative plexuī plexibus
      accusative plexum plexūs
      ablative plexū plexibus
      vocative plexus plexūs
      Descendants
      Descendants
      • → English: plexus
      • → French: plexe, (unadapted) plexus
      • → German: Plexus
      • → Italian: plesso
      • → Spanish: plexo
      • → Translingual: Plexa

      References

      • “plexus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “plexus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
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