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Definition of Elater
1. Noun. Any of various widely distributed beetles.
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
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