Search results for 'vein':

vein noun 1 anatomy any blood vessel, apart from the pulmonary vein, that carries deoxygenated blood back towards the heart. 2 anatomy, loosely any blood vessel. 3 a thin sheetlike deposit of one or more minerals, eg quartz, deposited in a fracture or joint in the surrounding rock. 4 a streak of different colour, eg in cheese. 5 in a leaf: any of a large number of thin branching tubes containing the vascular tissues. 6 in an insect: any of the tubes of chitin that stiffen and support the membranous structure of the wings. 7 a mood or tone • written in a sarcastic vein. 8 a distinct characteristic present throughout; a streak. verb (veined, veining) to form veins or the appearance of veins in something. veined adj. veinlet noun. veiny adj.
ETYMOLOGY: 14c: from French veine, from Latin vena vein.