pineal
Americanadjective
-
resembling a pine cone
-
of or relating to the pineal gland
Other Word Forms
- prepineal adjective
Etymology
Origin of pineal
1675–85; < New Latin pīneālis, equivalent to Latin pīne ( a ) pine cone, noun use of feminine of pīneus of a pine tree ( pīn ( us ) pine 1 + -eus -eous ) + -ālis -al 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He warned a pineal cyst should only be removed in extremely rare circumstances, and believes the operations' successful results could be explained by the "placebo effect".
From BBC • Dec. 4, 2024
It had a prominent pineal foramen -- a hole in the top of its head that many lizard species use to sense sunlight and judge the length of daylight hours.
From Science Daily • Nov. 29, 2023
This neurochemical comes from the pineal gland, a petite structure located in the center of the brain that philosopher René Descartes once described as the “seat of the soul” and rational thought.
From Scientific American • May 5, 2023
Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the pineal gland, a small structure at the center of the brain.
From Washington Post • Dec. 19, 2022
Descartes solved this problem as best he could by claiming that mind acted on the body through the pineal gland.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.