▪ I. enucleate, v.
(ɪˈnjuːklɪeɪt)
Also 6 enucleat.
[f. L. ēnucleāt- ppl. stem of ēnucleāre to remove the kernel of, f. ē out + nucleus kernel. The fig. sense, till modern times the exclusive one in Eng., was fully developed in Lat.]
1. fig. To extract the ‘kernel’ from; to bring out from disguise; to lay open, clear, explain.
| 1548 Hall Chron. (1809) 407 Thinkyng that he would enucleate and open to her all these thinges. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus iii. 896 All obscure probleme..ȝe can..Enucleat. 1622 T. Ailesbury Serm. (1623) 19 We sweat to enucleate the mystery. 1774 T. West Antiq. Furness (1805) 37 No inscription..that can serve to enucleate its original name. 1787 Schwartz in Phil. Trans. LXXVII. 359 To enucleate the family relation of this hitherto unknown vegetable. 1846 Landor Exam. Shaks. Wks. II. 272 To enucleate and bring into light their abstruse wisdom. 1859 Sat. Rev. 3 Sept. 284/1 Enucleating the sense which underlies a difficult construction. |
2. Surg. a. To extract (a tumour, etc.) from its shell or capsule. Also absol.
| 1878 A. Hamilton Nerv. Dis. 196 They are easily enucleated. 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 115 To remove them it is only necessary to divide their capsule and the soft parts covering them in and to enucleate. 1887 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 17 Dec. 1359/1 Dr. Keith's success in enucleating uterine tumours. |
b. To extract (an eye) from the socket.
| 1867 G. Lawson Injuries Eye, Orbit, & Eyelids vii. 277 The opening in the conjunctiva, through which the eye has been enucleated, may be closed by drawing it together by a fine thread. 1906 A. Bennett Whom God hath Joined vii. 260, I had to have an oculist at last. I couldn't sleep, and he enucleated the eye, as the term is. 1968 May & Worth's Man. Dis. Eye (ed. 13) iv. 137 When an eyeball containing a malignant growth is enucleated, as much of the optic nerve as possible should be removed. |
3. Biol. To deprive (a cell) of its nucleus.
| 1909 in Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1968 Science 7 June 1115/3 Kinetics of protein synthesis were measured in oocytes of Rana pipiens enucleated at various times during and following pituitary-induced maturation. |
Hence eˈnucleating ppl. a.
| 1862 Lowell Biglow P. 92 Runick inscriptions..offer peculiar temptations to enucleating sagacity. |
▪ II. enucleate, a. Biol., etc.
(ɪˈnjuːklɪeɪt)
[ad. L. enucleatus, pa. pple. of enucleare to enucleate.]
Without a nucleus.
| 1889 in Cent. Dict. 1910 F. Keeble Plant-Anim. iv. 113 The enucleate green cell may be connected by fine processes with another green cell still possessed of nuclear substance. 1921 L. W. Sharp Introd. Cytology iv. 69 The mammalian erythrocyte..loses its nucleus at an early stage and may continue to exist in the enucleate state for..30 days. 1968 H. Harris Nucleus & Cytoplasm i. 2 (heading) Lessons from an enucleate cell. |