| distend | To become expanded or inflated; to swell. "His heart distends with pride." 1. To extend in some one direction; to lengthen out; to stretch. "But say, what mean those coloured streaks in heaven Distended as the brow of God appeased?" (Milton) 2. To stretch out or extend in all directions; to dilate; to enlarge, as by elasticity of parts; to inflate so as to produce tension; to cause to swell; as, to distend a bladder, the stomach, etc. "The warmth distends the chinks." (Dryden) Synonym: To dilate, expand, enlarge, swell, inflate. Origin: L. Distendere, distentum, distensum; dis- + tendere to stretch, stretch out: cf. F. Distendre to distend, detendre to unbend. See Tend, and cf. Detent. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| distensibility | The capability of being distended or stretched. Origin: L. Dis-tendo, to stretch apart (05 Mar 2000) |
| distension | The act or state of being distended or stretched. See: dilation. Origin: L. Dis-tendo, to stretch apart (05 Mar 2000) |
| distention | The state of being distended or enlarged, the act of distending. (18 Nov 1997) |
| distention cyst | A cyst resulting from some obstruction to the excretory duct of a gland. Synonym: distention cyst, secretory cyst. (05 Mar 2000) |
| distention ulcer | An ulcer of the intestine in the dilated part above a stricture. (05 Mar 2000) |
| disthene | <chemical> Cyanite or kyanite; so called in allusion to its unequal hardness in two different directions. See Cyanite. Origin: Gr. = twice + force: cf. F. Disthene. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| distichiasis | A congenital, abnormal, accessory row of eyelashes. Origin: G. Di-double, + stichos, row (05 Mar 2000) |
| distichous | <plant biology> Arranged in two rows on opposite sides of a stem and thus in the same plane. (11 Jan 1998) |
| distil | <chemistry> To volatilise by heat and then cool and condense the evaporated matter, as to purify a substance or to separate a volatile substance from other less volatile substances. Origin: L. Stillare = to drop (11 Jan 1998) |
| distill | To extract a substance by distillation. (05 Mar 2000) |
| distillable | <chemistry> Capable of being distilled; especially, capable of being distilled without chemical change or decomposition; as, alcohol is distillable; olive oil is not distillable. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| distillate | <chemistry> The product of distillation; as, the distillate from molasses. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| distillate oil | Any distilled product of crude oil. A light petroleum product used for home heating and most machinery. (05 Dec 1998) |
| distillation | <technique> A lab technique used to purify a substance, to remove a solvent (a liquid that a substance is dissolved in) from the substance, or to separate two or more components in a liquid mixture. Ideally, this is done by taking advantage of the fact that the different chemicals have different boiling points. The temperature is raised so the chemical with the lowest boiling point boils first, its vapor is shunted out of the flask and towards a different container, and then it is cooled so that it condenses back into a (more purified) liquid. The temperature can then be raised to boil the next chemical, etc., until only the chemical with the highest boiling point remains in the original container. (11 Jan 1998) |