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fissure

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
fis·sure  (fshr)
n.
1. A long narrow opening; a crack or cleft.
2. The process of splitting or separating; division.
3. A separation into subgroups or factions; a schism.
4. Anatomy A normal groove or furrow, as in the liver or brain, that divides an organ into lobes or parts.
5. Medicine A break in the skin, usually where it joins a mucous membrane, producing a cracklike sore or ulcer.
intr. & tr.v. fis·sured, fis·sur·ing, fis·sures
To form a crack or cleft or cause a crack or cleft in.

[Middle English, cut, from Old French, from Latin fissra, from fissus, split; see fissi-.]

fissure [ˈfɪʃə]
n
1. any long narrow cleft or crack, esp in a rock
2. a weakness or flaw indicating impending disruption or discord fissures in a decaying empire
3. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Anatomy) Anatomy a narrow split or groove that divides an organ such as the brain, lung, or liver into lobes See also sulcus
4. (Medicine) a small unnatural crack in the skin or mucous membrane, as between the toes or at the anus
5. (Medicine / Dentistry) a minute crack in the surface of a tooth, caused by imperfect joining of enamel during development
vb
to crack or split apart
[from medical Latin fissūra, from Latin fissus split]

fissure  (fshr)
A long, narrow crack or opening in the face of a rock. Fissures are often filled with minerals of a different type from those in the surrounding rock.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.fissurefissure - a long narrow depression in a surface
imprint, impression, depression - a concavity in a surface produced by pressing; "he left the impression of his fingers in the soft mud"
2.fissurefissure - a long narrow opening                
chap - a crack in a lip caused usually by cold
chink - a narrow opening as e.g. between planks in a wall
crevasse - a deep fissure
fatigue crack - a crack in metal resulting from metal fatigue
faulting, geological fault, fracture, break, fault, shift - (geology) a crack in the earth's crust resulting from the displacement of one side with respect to the other; "they built it right over a geological fault"; "he studied the faulting of the earth's crust"
opening, gap - an open or empty space in or between things; "there was a small opening between the trees"; "the explosion made a gap in the wall"
rift - a narrow fissure in rock
slit - a narrow fissure
split - a lengthwise crack in wood; "he inserted the wedge into a split in the log"
volcano, vent - a fissure in the earth's crust (or in the surface of some other planet) through which molten lava and gases erupt
3.fissure - (anatomy) a long narrow slit or groove that divides an organ into lobes
vallecula, groove - (anatomy) any furrow or channel on a bodily structure or part
sulcus - (anatomy) any of the narrow grooves in an organ or tissue especially those that mark the convolutions on the surface of the brain
hilum, hilus - (anatomy) a depression or fissure where vessels or nerves or ducts enter a bodily organ; "the hilus of the kidney"
anatomy, general anatomy - the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of animals
Verb1.fissure - break into fissures or fine cracks
crack - cause to become cracked; "heat and light cracked the back of the leather chair"

fissure
noun crack, opening, hole, split, gap, rent, fault, breach, break, fracture, rift, slit, rupture, cleavage, cleft, chink, crevice, cranny, interstice There was a great crack, and a fissure opened up.
Translations
fissure [ˈfɪʃəʳ] Nhendidura f, grieta f (Anat, Geol, Metal) → fisura f
fissure [ˈfɪʃər] nfissure f
fissure
nRiss m; (deep) → Kluft f; (narrow) → Spalt m, → Spalte f
fissure [ˈfɪʃəʳ] nfessura, fenditura
fissure [ˈfɪʃəʳ] nfessura, fenditura


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
In a narrow little fissure, just within reach of my forefinger, I felt the chain.
The gutters of the street, and every crack and fissure in the stones, ran with scorching spirit, which being dammed up by busy hands, overflowed the road and pavement, and formed a great pool, into which the people dropped down dead by dozens.
The radiance was that of the full, setting, and blood-red moon which now shone vividly through that once barely-discernible fissure of which I have before spoken as extending from the roof of the building, in a zigzag direction, to the base.
 
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