Annulated

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈænjʊˌleɪtɪd/

Definitions

1. Having a configuration marked by circular bands or rings
2. Referring to an object that exhibits a pattern of annular sections or segments
3. Exhibiting a pattern characterized by one or more circular bands encircling an object

Etymology: "Annulated" comes from Latin "ānulātus," meaning "furnished with a ring," itself built from "ānulus," the diminutive of "anus," a ring. The Latin "anus" originally meant a ring or circlet, the same root that gave English words like "annular" and "annulus," while the rear-end sense of "anus" is a later, unrelated extension. The adjective reached English through New Latin "annulatus," a scientific form that botanists and zoologists used to describe organisms whose bodies or structures are divided into rings. The word is therefore a technical coinage rather than an everyday Latin borrowing, and its meaning stayed close to the physical image of a ring. A snake with bands of colour or a segmented worm can be described as annulated, so the word keeps the original sense of a circle wrapped around something.

Synonyms: ringed, circled, banded, striped, marked

Antonyms: unmarked, plain, solid, uniform, featureless