diel

[ dahy-uhl, dee- ]

adjective

, Biology.

1. of or relating to a 24-hour period, especially a regular daily cycle, as of the physiology or behavior of an organism.

Word History and Origins

Origin of diel¹

1930–35; apparently < Latin di ( ēs ) day + -al ¹, spelling with e to avoid identity with dial

Example Sentences

In a recent study, MacDorman and cognitive psychologist Alex Diel found the most support for a theory called configural processing, the idea that uncanny valley reactions are caused by our sensitivity to the positioning and size of human facial features.

From National Geographic

Diel explains we may see imperfections in a human replica as a sign they might be physically ill or a potential source of contagious illness—and that triggers our disgust response.

From National Geographic

It is hard to imagine a modern Indian psychoanalyst — Sudhir Kakar, say — turning him into an object of revulsion or perversion, the way Diel does with the chimera.

From New York Times

The chimera, as Diel writes, externalizes a certain danger, “in the form of a monster encountered by chance,” that “chimerical enemy” that “every man carries secretly within himself ... the devouring monster.”

From New York Times

These were transcribed and pieced together into a libretto by the writer Scott Diel, with whom Birman has collaborated on other verbatim projects.

From New York Times