Veins

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /veɪnz/

Definitions

1. Tubular structures carrying blood back toward the heart ; natural concentrations of minerals embedded in rock formations ; narrow streaks or lines appearing in various substances like marble or leaves
2. Channels through which deoxygenated blood flows to the heart ; visible bands of minerals found inside rocks ; fine linear markings found in materials such as wood or stone
3. Vessels transporting blood from body tissues to the heart ; veins or lodes containing valuable metals in geological contexts ; delicate linear patterns present in objects such as leaves or natural stones

Etymology: The plural "veins" is simply the form of "vein," so the story is that of the singular. English once had a native word for this idea: "edre," from Old English "ǣdre," which survives today in the older word "edder," a term for a poisonous snake. The word "vein" displaced it after arriving from Anglo-Norman, the French spoken in England after the Norman Conquest, which had taken it from Latin "vēna," meaning "a blood-vessel," "vein," or "artery." Latin's "vēna" is of uncertain origin. Latin "vēna" also gave English "vena," a doublet of "vein" that entered directly from Latin, so the two forms came into the language by separate routes. Only the Anglo-Norman route produced the familiar English spelling and pronunciation. The Latin sense of a blood channel carried over into the geological and botanical meanings, where a vein is a seam of ore or a line running through a leaf or stone. Those extended senses follow the same logic: a channel or thread running through a solid body.

Synonyms: blood vessels, channels