Veinlets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Narrow offshoots from major veins in a leaf, subtle colored streaks in rocks or crystals, and diminutive off-branches within vascular systems are terms for this
2. These are little extensions of veins in a plant or animal’s tissue, fine lines of different material within stone, or minor passageways that branch from larger channels in organic or inorganic structures
3. Tiny subdivisions of a leaf's main veins that create a delicate network ; slender lines of contrasting minerals embedded in stone ; minute vascular branches within the tissues of living beings

Etymology: "Veinlets" is the plural of "veinlet," a small vein, and the form is built from two parts that have travelled very different routes into English. The first, "vein," arrived through Old French "veine" from Latin "vena," which was itself related to the idea of a channel or passage that carried blood or sap. The second, "-let," is a diminutive ending that English took from Old French "-elet," itself descended from Late Latin "-ittus" and related Latin diminutives. The combination is simple: "-let" shrinks whatever it is attached to, so a "veinlet" is a little vein, and "veinlets" are several of them. The pattern is an ordinary one in English, seen also in words like "booklet" and "streamlet," where "-let" adds the sense of smallness to an existing noun.

Synonyms: small veins, minor veins, tributaries, channels, branches