raphide
(redirected from raphises)ra·phide
(rā′fīd) also ra·phis (-fĭs)n. pl. raph·i·des (răf′ĭ-dēz′) or ra··phis·es
One of a bundle of needlelike crystals of calcium oxalate occurring in many plant cells.
[French, sing. of raphides, from New Latin, from Greek rhaphides, pl. of rhaphis, needle, from rhaptein, to sew; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
raphide
(ˈreɪfaɪd) orraphis
n, pl raphides (ˈræfɪˌdiːz)
(Biochemistry) any of numerous needle-shaped crystals, usually of calcium oxalate, that occur in many plant cells as a metabolic product
[C18: from French, from Greek rhaphis needle]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014