meander
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /miˈæn.də(ɹ)/
ipa: /miˈæn.dɚ/
Forms: form: meanders
form: mæander
Etymology: From Latin Maeander, from Ancient Greek Μαίανδρος (Maíandros) – a river in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) known for its winding course (modern Turkish Menderes).
Senses: examples: text: the meanders of an old river, or of the veins and arteries in the body
glosses: One of the turns of a winding, crooked, or involved course.
examples: text: See, how the streams advancing to the main, / Through crooked channels draw their crystal train! / While lingering thus they in meanders glide, / They scatter verdant life on either side.
ref: 1712, Sir Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem:
topics: geography
natural-sciences
glosses: One of a series of regular sinuous curves, bends, loops, turns, or windings in the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse
examples: text: That journey in the spring of 1891 tracked historical underpinnings of the edifice that Einstein built. Our story will be an extremely interesting mental meander to trace the evolution some of the aspects of relativity theory from the beginning.
ref: 2014 August 1, Enders A. Robinson, Dean Clark, Remote Sensing in Action: The Curious Case of Sherlock Holmes and Albert Einstein, SEG Books, →ISBN, page 30:
glosses: A tortuous or winding journey.
examples: text: The scales are conceived of as meander fretwork; but I do not know whether, for this reason, this fish is associated with thunder.
ref: 1912, Field Museum of Natural History, Anthropological Series, page 227:
text: A chair rail adorned with Chinese fretwork molding was a specific meander that repeated throughout the home. Moldings shaped as cartouches lined each wall,[…]
ref: 2008, Todd Merrill, James Mont: The King Cole Penthouse, Lulu.com, →ISBN:
glosses: Synonym of Greek key, a decorative border; fretwork.
synonyms: word: Greek key
extra: a decorative border; fretwork
topics: mathematics
sciences
glosses: A self-avoiding closed curve which intersects a line a number of times.
examples: text: Markings on Meander Corners. On all meander corners, the letters “M. C.” ( for meander corner) will be cut into the side facing the stream or lake to be meandered. On post or tree meander corners, within township exteriors[…]
ref: 1894, United States Bureau of Land Management, Manual of Surveying Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States and Private Land Claims, page 44:
text: And as to the lands that were within the national meander boundaries, that description was based upon a state survey?
ref: 1911, United States House Committee on Public Lands, Providing for Appeals from Decisions of the Interior Department in Land Matters: Hearing Held Before the Committee on the Public Lands of the House Representatives, June 22, 1910, on H.R. 27071, "To Provide for Appeals from Decisions of the Secretary of the Interior to the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, and for Other Purposes.", page 56:
glosses: A path on which the directions, distances, and elevations are noted, as a part of a land survey.
topics: architecture
glosses: A decorative border consisting of a repeated linear motif, particularly of intersecting perpendicular lines.
Derived terms: incised meander
meander belt
meanderer
meanderian
meanderic
meanderiform
meanderine
meandering
meander line
meander loop
meanderthal
meandery
meandric
meandrous
meandry
palaeomeander