Definition of Elater

1. Noun. Any of various widely distributed beetles.

Exact synonyms: Elaterid, Elaterid Beetle
Generic synonyms: Beetle
Group relationships: Elateridae, Family Elateridae
Specialized synonyms: Click Beetle, Skipjack, Snapping Beetle, Fire Beetle, Firefly, Pyrophorus Noctiluca

Definition of Elater

1. n. One who, or that which, elates.

2. n. An elastic spiral filament for dispersing the spores, as in some liverworts.

3. n. The active principle of elaterium, being found in the juice of the wild or squirting cucumber (Ecballium agreste, formerly Motordica Elaterium) and other related species. It is extracted as a bitter, white, crystalline substance, which is a violent purgative.

Definition of Elater

1. Noun. (obsolete) Elasticity; especially the expansibility of a gas. (R:Century 1911 elater) ¹

2. Noun. (botany) A long, slender cell produced among spores and having hygroscopic secondary cell wall thickenings. ¹

3. Noun. (botany) Long, slender hygroscopic appendages attached to the spores of horsetails (genus ''Equisetum''). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Elater

1. a click beetle [n -S]

Medical Definition of Elater

1. An elongated, spirally thickened, water-attracting cell in the capsule of a liverwort, derived from sporogenous tissue and assisting in spore dispersal. (09 Oct 1997)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Elater

elastoplasticity
elastorrhexis
elastosis
elastosis colloidalis conglomerata
elastosis dystrophica
elastosis perforans serpiginosa
elastostatic
elastostatics
elastotic degeneration
elastoviscoplastic
elate
elated
elatedly
elatedness
elatednesses
elater (current term)
elaterid
elaterid beetle
elaterids
elaterin
elaterins
elaterite
elaterites
elaterium
elateriums
elaterometer
elaterometers
elaters
elates
elating

Literary usage of Elater

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club by Torrey Botanical Club (1899)
"... mostly somewhat attenuate at the ends, a few usually clinging to the " elater-bearers " and forming with them at the tip of each valve a ..."

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