sphæro-
(ˈsfɪərəʊ)
ad. Gr. σϕαιρο-, combining form of σϕαῖρα ball, sphere, employed in a considerable number of terms, esp. Bot. and Zool., of which only a few are naturalized in form or have any general currency. ˈsphæroblast Bot. (see quot.); sphæroˈcobaltite Min., ‘carbonate of cobalt, found in small spherical masses’ (Chester).; cf. spherocobaltite s.v. sphero-; ˈsphærocone Palæont., an ammonoid with a very involute shell in which the outer whorl conceals the inner one and the whole has a globular form; sphæroˈdactyle, a species of humming-bird; ˈsphærolite, (a) (see quot.); (b) obs. var. spherulite; † sphæˈromachy (see quot.); sphærosome, var. spherosome; ˈsphærospore Bot. (see quot.); sphæroˈstilbite Min., ‘a variety of stilbite, occurring in radiated spheres’ (Chester).
| 1901 H. M. Ward Diseases in Plants xxiv. 225 Woodnodules or *Sphæroblasts are curious marble-like masses of wood which protrude with a covering of bark from old trunks of Beeches, etc. |
| 1877 Mineral. Mag. I. 267 *Sphœrocobaltite [sic]..occurs in spheroidal forms with roselite at Schneeberg, Saxony. 1881 Watts Dict. Chem., 3rd Suppl., Sphærocobaltite, or Cobalt-spar, is a native carbonate of cobalt belonging to the calcspar-group, black on the outside, red within. |
| 1923 *Sphærocone [see serpenticone]. 1970 R. M. Black Elements Palaeont. viii. 89 Sphaerocones occur repeatedly during ammonoid history. |
| 1860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 149 The little *sphærodactyle,—which we might put into a quill-barrel, and carry home in the waistcoat pocket. |
| 1881 Watts Dict. Chem., 3rd Suppl., *Sphærolite, a volcanic glass from the lava of Antisana. |
| 1658 Phillips, *Sphæromachy, a playing at bowls, or tennis. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1081/1 *Sphærospore, the quadruple spore of some algals. |
| 1850 Daubeny Atom. The. (ed. 2) xii. 410 The former combinations are called hydro⁓silicates... Example: *Sphærostilbite. |