‖ lunula
(ˈl(j)uːnjʊlə)
[L. lūnula, dim. of lūna moon.]
1. a. Geom. = lune3 1, lunule 2. † b. (See quot. 1712). Obs.
| 1571 Digges Pantom. ii. xiv. O j, Y⊇ last figure called a Lunula. 1579 ― Stratiot. 104 All others as the Lunula..and Hexagonall Battailes. 1700 Wallis in. Phil. Trans. XXI. 411 The Squaring a certain Lunula by Hippocrates Chius long since, hath been known..for many Ages. 1712 Desaguliers tr. Ozanam's Mech. 123 We call Lunula a Plain terminated by the Circumferences of Two Circles, which touch one another on the inside [etc.]. 1881 R. Routledge Science ii. 37 The areas of the lunulae AFBD, BGCE. |
† 2. A satellite. rare—1. Obs. (Cf. F. lunule.)
| 1676 Glanvill Ess. iii. 18 The Ansulæ Saturni, the Asseclæ of Jupiter..By these Lunulæ 'tis thought that Jupiters distance from the Earth may be determined. |
3. a. Nat. Hist. A crescent-shaped mark = lunule 1. b. The white crescent-shaped mark at the base of the finger-nails.
| 1828 Quain Elem. Anat. 699 At the posterior, or attached extremity [of the nail], a small portion will be observed differing in colour from the rest, and usually called lunula, from its form. 1874 Coues Birds N.W. 703 The frontal lunula reaches but little beyond the eyes, instead of nearly half an inch behind them. 1891 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 12 Sept. 624/2 A patient..who had a lunula on each thumbnail only. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 361 A white band and a furrow at the lunula of the nails. |
4. a. Conch. = lunule 3. b. Anat. (See quot.)
| 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 711/2 The lunula does not occur in every genus of bivalve shell. 1856 Quain's Anat. (ed. 6) III. 240 [In the heart] two narrow lunated portions, one on each side of the nodule and adjoining the free margin of the valve. These parts..are named lunulæ. 1875 T. Hayden Dis. Heart 24 This is the lunula. |
5. Archæol. A gold, crescent-shaped, neck ornament found in archaeological sites of the Early Bronze Age.
| 1719 J. Harris Hist. Kent I. ii. 249/1 Many also of the Lunulae were found here. 1773 Archæologia II. 37 The small circular plates at the extremities of the Lunula. 1867 Archæol. Jrnl. XXIV. 197 In another remarkable discovery of golden relics.., namely the two lunulæ found at Padstow.., the precious deposit was likewise accompanied by an object of bronze. 1911 Encycl. Brit. II. 353/1 The flat, crescent-shaped, diadem-like objects called ‘lunulae’, which are..characteristic of Ireland. 1939 G. Clark Archaeol. & Society v. 133 If the distribution of crescentic jet necklaces and the gold ‘lunula’ ornaments are together plotted on the map they will be found to coincide closely with the distribution of food vessels. |