decussate
/dɪˈkʌseɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.49 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Crossed; intersected; resembling a letter X.
adj
Having anatomical structures or markings crossing each other, typically in an X shape or at right angles.
adj
Having opposite leaves arranged alternately at right angles.
adj
Consisting of two rising and two falling clauses, placed in alternate opposition to each other.
Example Sentences
- "Juniperites, ju-ne-per-i′tis, s[ubstantive]. A genus of fossil plants, in which the branches are ranged irregularly; leaves short, obtuse, inserted by a broad base, opposite, decussate, and arranged in four rows."
- "a decussated period"
- "The two trochlears decussate in the anterior medullary velum."
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in 1825, the verb in 1658. Borrowed from Latin decussātus, perfect passive participle of decussō (“to divide crosswise, arrange crosswise or mark with a cross”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from decussis (“a coin worth ten asses; a cross sign (from the cross shape of the Roman numeral for ten carved on the coins)”), from decem (“ten”) + as (“a Roman coin”).
Inflected Forms
more decussate (comparative)
most decussate (superlative)
decussates (present, singular)
decussating (participle, present)
decussated (participle, past)
decussated (past)