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#86604 11/11/02 02:54 PM
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wwh Offline OP
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A term I have seen only in anatomy books.
decussate
vt., vi.
3sat#ed, 3sat#ing 5< L decussatus, pp. of decussare, to cross in the form of an X < decussis, the figure ten (X) < decem, TEN6 to cross or cut so as to form an X; intersect
adj.
1 forming an X; decussated
2 Bot. arranged in pairs growing at right angles to those above and below: said of leaves or branches
de[cus4sate[ly
adv.




#86605 11/15/02 12:36 AM
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I recognized decussate from my reading of tree books.

But the word would be a lot more fun if you considered it as to discuss with lots of cussin' goin' on: decussate...certainly that would be a discussion at cross purposes. And, therefore, a good mnemonic for remembering the botanical reference.


#86606 11/15/02 01:14 AM
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(1870–1938). Roget’s International Thesaurus. 1922.

Class II. Words Relating to Space
Section II. Dimensions
2. Linear Dimensions

219. Crossing.




NOUN:
CROSSING &c. v.; intersection, interdigitation; decussation, transversion;
chiasm or chiasma; convolution [See Convolution]; level crossing [Eng.], grade
crossing [U. S.].
NETWORK, reticulation, cancellation; inosculation, anastomosis, intertexture,
mortise.
NET, plexus, plexure, web, mesh, twill, skein, Hippocrates’s sleeve, sleave
[archaic]; sieve, sifter, riddle rocker, screen, cradle; felt, lace; wicker; mat,
matting; plait, trellis, wattle, lattice, grating, grille, gridiron, tracery, fretwork,
filigree, reticle [obs.]; tissue, netting, moke [dial. Eng.]; rivulation.
cross, chain, wreath, braid, cat’s cradle, knot; entanglement (disorder) [See
Disorder].
CRUCIFIX, cross, rood, crisscross, christcross, tau; crux.
[WOVEN FABRICS] cloth, linen, muslin, cambric, toile [F.], drill, homespun,
silk, satin, broadcloth, tweed &c.


#86607 11/15/02 01:16 AM
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I didn't spot pleach on that list. Did you, wwh?


#86608 11/15/02 02:07 AM
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It was winter. Christmas had come and gone, and the branches were bare. While I dug field drain
trenches, Isaac began to pleach the hedges whose sides we had cut back earlier 'plashing' he
called it. Slowly he converted the tall unkempt hedges, twelve or more feet high in places, into
a neat three-foot, thick, intertwined barrier. He did a lot of preliminary trimming, then half cut
through the upright limbs almost at hedge-bottom level, bending them horizontal and twining
them between evenly spaced vertical stakes. The effect was of a living wattle fence.

http://www.stagger.force9.co.uk/london/isaac.htm



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