torus noun. ['tɔ:rǝs] Pl. -ri [-rʌɪ], -ruses. M16.
[Latin = swelling, bolster, round moulding.]
1. Architecture. A large convex moulding, usu. semicircular in cross-section, esp. at the base of a column. M16.

2. Botany.
a. The receptacle of a flower. E19.
b. A central thickened area of the pit membrane in a bordered pit of a gymnosperm. L19.

3. Zoology. A protuberant part or organ, as the ventral parapodia in some annelids; Anatomy a smooth rounded ridge. L19.

4. Geometry. Orig., a surface or solid generated by the revolution of a circle or other conic about any axis. Now spec. a surface or solid generated by the circular motion of a circle about an axis outside itself but lying in its plane; a solid ring of circular cross-section; a body topologically equivalent to this, having one hole in it but not necessarily circular in form or cross-section. L19.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲