Word of the Day: Canaliculus
I'm sure that some of my readers will immediately have odd qualms about admitting this word to their individual vocabularies. It will probably sound 'wrong' to some of them. And indeed, on muttering it to myself repeatedly several hundred times in the local café, I have begun to think that this is true – that 'canaliculus' is indeed a word that sounds as if it is on the verge of being a porneme.
The word canaliculus is of course easily etymologised. Like any of the modern words ending in -cule, it has its roots in the diminutive end of Latin grammar. A canulus is a channel, and the English word 'canal' is somewhat related to it in this sense. A canaliculus in its most general sense is therefore a very tiny channel.
In anatomy, the word refers to the path tears take to a tear duct; in cytology, it refers to a folding in a membrane that creates a groove, thereby resulting in increased surface area (think about the folded-looking surface of a human brain). But I think the definition that resonates with me most acutely is this: a canaliculus is a microscopic channel that connects the lacunae in an ossification.
Before you give up in disgust, let me explain. 'Lacunae' are voids, little holes. In my educational universe (please, not the horrible 'eduverse'), a lacuna is a gap in knowledge or data; it is that wonderful thing which research seeks to obliterate by filling up. Of course, an 'ossification' is a structure that has hardened and is no longer flexible – also a part of that universe. Canaliculi are therefore wonderful things that allow you to move from space to space within a structure that no longer allows for flexibility.
And that is why 'canaliculus', for all its quasi-pornemic qualities, is my Word of the Day.
The word canaliculus is of course easily etymologised. Like any of the modern words ending in -cule, it has its roots in the diminutive end of Latin grammar. A canulus is a channel, and the English word 'canal' is somewhat related to it in this sense. A canaliculus in its most general sense is therefore a very tiny channel.
In anatomy, the word refers to the path tears take to a tear duct; in cytology, it refers to a folding in a membrane that creates a groove, thereby resulting in increased surface area (think about the folded-looking surface of a human brain). But I think the definition that resonates with me most acutely is this: a canaliculus is a microscopic channel that connects the lacunae in an ossification.
Before you give up in disgust, let me explain. 'Lacunae' are voids, little holes. In my educational universe (please, not the horrible 'eduverse'), a lacuna is a gap in knowledge or data; it is that wonderful thing which research seeks to obliterate by filling up. Of course, an 'ossification' is a structure that has hardened and is no longer flexible – also a part of that universe. Canaliculi are therefore wonderful things that allow you to move from space to space within a structure that no longer allows for flexibility.
And that is why 'canaliculus', for all its quasi-pornemic qualities, is my Word of the Day.
etched with acid at 10:36:00 pm
1 Comments:
I like the way in which you suggested an alternative use for 'canaliculus'
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