Midribs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The central vein or main support structure of a leaf
2. A prominent rib within various biological structures, providing support and transport
3. The primary vascular bundle in leaves, connecting water and nutrients from the base to the extremities

Etymology: "Midribs" is the plural of "midrib," the central vein running down the middle of a leaf. The word is a plain compound: "mid," meaning middle, joined to "rib," the familiar bone-like structure. Both parts have deep roots in English, with "mid" tracing back through Old English "midd" to a Germanic ancestor meaning middle, and "rib" descending from Old English as well. The picture behind the term is a leaf imagined as a body. Its central vein stands in the middle like a backbone's rib, with smaller veins branching outward the way ribs spread from a spine. Botanists adopted the compound because it describes that structure directly, so the word needed no special invention beyond joining two familiar English nouns.

Synonyms: ribs