valve

10 entries found for valve.
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valve ball valve bicuspid valve butterfly valve check valve mitral valve safety valve semilunar valve slide valve tricuspid valve

Main Entry: valve
Pronunciation: 'valv
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin valva; akin to Latin volvere to roll -- more at VOLUBLE
1 archaic : a leaf of a folding or double door
2 [New Latin valva, from Latin] : a bodily structure (as the mitral valve) that closes temporarily a passage or orifice or permits movement of fluid in one direction only
3 a : any of numerous mechanical devices by which the flow of liquid, gas, or loose material in bulk may be started, stopped, or regulated by a movable part that opens, shuts, or partially obstructs one or more ports or passageways; also : the movable part of such a device b : a device in a brass instrument for quickly channeling air flow through an added length of tube in order to change the fundamental tone by some definite interval c chiefly British : ELECTRON TUBE
4 [New Latin valva, from Latin] : one of the distinct usually hinged and movable pieces of which the shell of some shell-bearing animals (as lamellibranch mollusks, brachiopods, and barnacles) consists
5 [New Latin valva, from Latin] a : one of the segments or pieces into which a dehiscing capsule or legume separates b : the portion of various anthers (as of the barberry) resembling a lid c : one of the two encasing membranes of a diatom
- valved /'valvd/ adjective
- valve·less /'valv-l&s/ adjective