commissure

[ kom-uh-shoor, -shur ]

noun

1. a joint; seam; suture.
2. Botany. the joint or face by which one carpel coheres with another.
3. Anatomy, Zoology. a connecting band of nerve fiber, especially one joining the right and left sides of the brain or spinal cord.

commissure

/ kəˈmɪsjʊrəl; ˈkɒmɪˌsjʊə; ˌkɒmɪˈsjʊərəl /

noun

1. a band of tissue linking two parts or organs, such as the nervous tissue connecting the right and left sides of the brain in vertebrates
2. any of various joints between parts, as between the carpels, leaf lobes, etc, of a plant

Derived Forms

• commissural, adjective

Other Words From

• com·mis·su·ral [k, uh, -, mish, -er-, uh, l, kom-, uh, -, shoor, -, uh, l, -, shur, -], adjective
• inter·com·missur·al adjective
• pseudo·com·missu·ral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of commissure¹

1375–1425; late Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin commissūra, equivalent to commiss ( us ) ( commissary ) + -ūra -ure

Word History and Origins

Origin of commissure¹

C15: from Latin commissūra a joining together, from committere commit

Example Sentences

However, according to a study that was performed ten years later, the size of the anterior commissure is not affected by sexual orientation.

From Scientific American

Fruit usually globose, with all the ribs conspicuously winged; oil-tubes one to several in the intervals, 2–8 on the commissure.

From Project Gutenberg

Nerve fibres have been traced—from the pineal organ into the posterior commissure and possibly into the right habenular ganglion.

From Project Gutenberg

Goubeaux and Barrier add: ‘Or to the commissure of the lips.’

From Project Gutenberg

Just within the upper or anterior commissure, formed by the junction of these lips, a little round oblong body is situated.

From Project Gutenberg