nucleus Meaning, Definition & Usage
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noun a part of the cell containing DNA and RNA and responsible for growth and reproduction
karyon; cell nucleus.
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noun the positively charged dense center of an atom
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noun a small group of indispensable persons or things
core; core group.
- five periodicals make up the core of their publishing program
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noun (astronomy) the center of the head of a comet; consists of small solid particles of ice and frozen gas that vaporizes on approaching the sun to form the coma and tail
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noun any histologically identifiable mass of neural cell bodies in the brain or spinal cord
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noun the central structure of the lens that is surrounded by the cortex
lens nucleus.
WordNet
Nu"cle*us noun
Etymology
L., a kernel, dim. fr.Wordforms
Definitions
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A kernel; hence, a central mass or point about which matter is gathered, or to which accretion is made; the central or material portion; -- used both literally and figuratively. It must contain within itself a nucleus of truth. I. Taylor.
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(Astron.) The body or the head of a comet. -
(Bot.) (a) An incipient ovule of soft cellular tissue. (b) A whole seed, as contained within the seed coats. -
(Biol.) A body, usually spheroidal, in a cell or a protozoan, distinguished from the surrounding protoplasm by a difference in refrangibility and in behavior towards chemical reagents. It is more or less protoplasmic, and consists of a clear fluid (achromatin) through which extends a network of fibers (chromatin) in which may be suspended a second rounded body, the nucleolus (see Nucleoplasm ). SeeCell division , underDivision .it contains the genetic material, DNA ✍ The nucleus is sometimes termed the endoplast or endoblast, and in the protozoa is supposed to be concerned in the female part of the reproductive process. See Karyokinesis . -
(Zoöl.) (a) The tip, or earliest part, of a univalve or bivalve shell. (b) The central part around which additional growths are added, as of an operculum. (c) A visceral mass, containing the stomach and other organs, in Tunicata and some mollusks.