dolabriform
- adjective
- Specialized
- The scientist described the bone fragment as dolabriform due to its unusual cleaver-like shape.
Examples
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The leaves of that plant are distinctly dolabriform, resembling small axes.
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Some fossil mollusks have dolabriform shells that set them apart from related species.
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This tool is dolabriform.
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Look at that dolabriform axe!
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The leaves of that plant are distinctly dolabriform, resembling small axes.
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Some fossil mollusks have dolabriform shells that set them apart from related species.
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The scientist described the bone fragment as dolabriform due to its unusual cleaver-like shape.
Synonyms
1
6.3
Narrow and flat, getting thinner at the end like a knife
Having the shape of the flat, broad head of an axe or cleaver
Surface Forms
Morphology
dolabriform = dolabra (semi-transparent) = dolabra + iform
Formed from the rare combining root 'dolabra' plus the productive adjective-forming suffix '-iform'; the structural relation is regular but the root is obscure to most learners.
Etymology
The word dolabriform comes from the Latin dolabra, 'axe', and the ending -form, 'shape'. So something called dolabriform is 'axe-shaped' or like a small cleaver, which is why scientists use it for shells, leaves, or bones that look like a little axe.