decussate

[ adjective dih-kuhs-eyt, -it; verb dih-kuhs-eyt, dek-uh-seyt ]

adjective

1. in the form of an X ; crossed; intersected.
2. Botany. arranged along the stem in pairs, each pair at right angles to the pair next above or below, as leaves.

verb (used without object)

, de·cus·sat·ed, de·cus·sat·ing.

1. to intersect; cross in the form of an X :

   About 75 percent of these nerve fibers decussate in the medulla.

decussate

verb

1. to cross or cause to cross in the form of the letter X; intersect

adjective

1. in the form of the letter X; crossed; intersected
2. botany (esp of leaves) arranged in opposite pairs, with each pair at right angles to the one above and below it

Derived Forms

• deˈcussately, adverb
• ˌdecusˈsation, noun

Other Words From

• de·cus·sate·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of decussate¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin decussātus “divided in the form of an X” (past participle of decussāre ), equivalent to Latin decuss(is) “the numeral ten,” originally, “a ten-as weight,” supposedly from unrecorded dec(-em) assis ); ten, as ², -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of decussate¹

C17: from Latin decussāre, from decussis the number ten, from decem ten

Example Sentences

In basil plants, each leaf is about 90 degrees — a quarter-turn — from the last, a template called “decussate.”

From New York Times

In his famous dictionary Samuel Johnson notoriously, and gloriously, defined the word “network” as “any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.”

From Washington Post

It consisted of the last letter of the Samaritan alphabet, the tau or tav in its decussated or most primitive form, and may be described, as it has been sometimes, as a cruciform hammer.

From Project Gutenberg

Having branches in pairs, decussated, all nearly horizontal, and each pair at right angles with the next, as in the maple and lilac.

From Project Gutenberg

A decussated cross, on which St. Andrew was crucified, indicates his day.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cross
• cut across