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Webster 1913 Edition


Elater

E-lat′er

,
Noun.
One who, or that which, elates.

El′a-ter

,
Noun.
[NL., fr. Gr. [GREEK] driver, fr. [GREEK] to drive.]
1.
(Bot.)
An elastic spiral filament for dispersing the spores, as in some liverworts.
2.
(Zoöl.)
Any beetle of the family
Elateridæ
, having the habit, when laid on the back, of giving a sudden upward spring, by a quick movement of the articulation between the abdomen and thorax; – called also
click beetle
,
spring beetle
, and
snapping beetle
.
3.
(Zoöl.)
The caudal spring used by
Podura
and related insects for leaping. See
Collembola
.

El′a-ter

,
Noun.
(Chem.)
The active principle of elaterium, being found in the juice of the wild or squirting cucumber (
Ecballium agreste
, formerly
Motordica Elaterium
) and other related species. It is extracted as a bitter, white, crystalline substance, which is a violent purgative.

Definition 2024


elater

elater

English

Noun

elater (plural elaters)

  1. That which elates.

Etymology 2

From New Latin elater, from Ancient Greek ἐλατήρ (elatḗr, driver, that which drives away)

Noun

elater (plural elaters)

  1. (obsolete) Elasticity; especially the expansibility of a gas.
  2. (botany) A long, slender cell produced among spores and having hygroscopic secondary cell wall thickenings.
    • 1992, Rudolf M. Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, page 4
      The closest affinities of the Jubulaceae are with the Lejeuneaceae. The two families share in common: (a) elaters usually 1-spiral, trumpet-shaped and fixed to the capsule valves, distally []
  3. (botany) Any of the long, slender hygroscopic appendages attached to the spores of horsetails (genus Equisetum).
  4. (zoology) An elaterid, or click beetle.
Derived terms
  • pseudoelater

References

  • elater in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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